I. Historical Background
The Bulgaria of today is the sovereign successor of a powerful European medieval empire, the First Bulgarian Empire.
In 864 Bulgaria accepted the Orthodox faith and became one of the most powerful countries in Europe, while fighting with the Byzantine Empire for the control of the Balkans. The Cyrillic alphabet invented by the monks Cyril and Methodius became the basis for cultural development. In 1018 the state was destroyed by Byzantines led by Basil the Bulgar-Slayer after their victory at Kleidion.
Between 1018 and 1186 the territory of Bulgaria was under Byzantine rule until the establishment of the Second Bulgarian Empire.
The Second Bulgarian Empire established Bulgaria as an important power in Europe for two centuries until it disintegrated into several feudal principalities. This gave way for an Ottoman conquest in 1396. For 5 centuries the Bulgarian population suffered great violence and oppression during the Ottoman rule.
In 1876 the April Uprising broke out. It was the first significant and organised attempt at liberation from Ottoman predominance. Two years later the Bulgarian State was restored as a result of the Russian-Turkish war of Liberation. In 1879 a democratic constitution was adopted in Bulgaria.
Ferdinand Saxe-Coburg Gotha, Bulgarian Prince since 1887, declared Bulgaria’s independence form Turkey in 1908 and became king of the Bulgarian people. Bulgaria lost great parts of its lands as a result of its involvement in the Balkan Wars in 1912/1913 and World War I.
In 1940 Bulgaria became allied with Germany, but its authorities refused to send Jews to German death camps and its cavalry did not fight the Eastern Front.
After World War II Bulgaria was under the political and economic influence of the Soviet Union. In 1946 Bulgaria proclaimed a Republic. The Communist Party came to power and the royal family left the country. The economy and banks were nationalised and the arable land was organised in cooperatives.
In 1989 democratic changes took place in Bulgaria. In June 1990 the first free elections took place since 1931. A new Constitution was adopted in 1991. In 2007 Bulgaria became a member of the EU.
II. Social Facts
The last Census was taken in 2001. Bulgaria’s population consists mainly of Bulgarians, with two notable minorities, including Turks (9.4%) and Roma (4.7%).
About 83.7 % of the Bulgarian population consider themselves to be Christian. Most of them belong to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church (82.6 %). Another 12.2 % are of a Muslim faith. There are also various Protestant denominations, Roman Catholicism, atheists and a rapidly evanescent minority of Jews (653).
III. Basic Categories of the System
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church. It considers itself as an inseparable member of the one, holy, synodal and apostolic church. It is organized as a self governing body under the name of Patriarchate.
It is divided into 13 dioceses within Bulgaria and has jurisdiction over additional 2 dioceses for Bulgarians worldwide.
The dioceses are divided into 58 church counties and subdivided into 2,600 parishes. The Holy Synod exercises the supreme clerical, judicial and administrative power for the whole domain of the Bulgarian Orthodox church. The Holy Synod includes the Patriarch and the diocesan prelates which are called metropolitans.
During the communist era the property of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church was confiscated by the state.
IV. Cultural and societal exercise of functions
There is a Theological Seminary in Sofia. This is a secondary school of theology, which trains priests and other staff for the needs of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. The students receive scholarships granted by the Church. The curriculum includes theological subjects as well as general subjects and is approved by the Bulgarian Ministry of Education, Science and Technology.
V. Legal foundations
The constitution of 1991 guaranteed freedom of religion and recognised Eastern Orthodoxy as “the traditional religion in Bulgaria”.