Christo Proykov ( bg, Христо Пройков) (born 11 March 1946 in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

) is the Bulgarian Greek Catholic

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of Sofia. He was ordained a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

on 23 May 1971, then appointed

Coadjutor Bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co ...

of Sofia and

Titular Bishop A titular bishop in various churches is a bishop who is not in charge of a diocese. By definition, a bishop is an "overseer" of a community of the faithful, so when a priest is ordained a bishop, the tradition of the Catholic, Eastern Orthodox an ...

of Briula on 18 December 1993. On 6 January 1994 Proykov was ordained bishop and on 5 September 1995 he became Bishop of Sofia.

Biography

Born in Sofia on 11 March 1946. On 6 September 1970 he was ordained a deacon by Bishop Cyril Kourtev, and on 23 May 1971 - a priest by Bishop Methodius Stratiev. In 1980–1982, he specialized canon law at the

Pontifical Oriental Institute The Pontifical Oriental Institute, also known as the Orientale, is a Catholic institution of higher education located in Rome and focusing on Eastern Christianity. The plan of creating a school of higher learning for Eastern Christianity had been ...

in Rome, Italy. In 1982, he was a parish priest at the

Cathedral of the Dormition The Cathedral of the Dormition (russian: Успенский собор , translit = Uspensky sobor), also known as the Assumption Cathedral or Cathedral of the Assumption, is a Russian Orthodox church dedicated to the Dormition of the Theotokos. ...

in Sofia. In December 1991, he refounded the newspaper "Truth - Veritas", a continuation of the newspaper "Truth". On 18 December 1993 is preconized as Bishop of Sofia-coadjutor Apostolic Exarchate and titular bishop of Briun. On 6 January 1994 was ordained a bishop in the Basilica "St. Peter" in Rome by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

, in co-service with Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re and Archbishop Josip Uhach. Manages the Catholic Exarchate of 5 September 1995 Bishop Christo Proykov chairman of the Episcopal Conference of Bulgaria by 1995. The Episcopal Conference of Bulgaria is chairman of these committees: * Commission for Clergy * Commission for Catholic Education and for titles * Council for pastoral care over migrants and travelers * Council for pastoral care health service On 15 May 2009 he was appointed by

Pope Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the sovereign ...

as a consultant to the

Dicastery for the Eastern Churches The Dicastery for the Eastern Churches (also called Dicastery for the Oriental Churches), previously named Congregation for the Oriental Churches or Congregation for the Eastern Churches ( la, Congregatio pro Ecclesiis Orientalibus), is a dicaste ...

of the Roman Curia.

Awards

On 15 November 2007 a ceremony was held of the Grand Cross "Pro piis meritis Melitensi" Order of Malta of Mgr. Proykov. Through awards Order of Malta expresses its gratitude to the Catholic Church in the country for helping to introduction of medicins as humanitarian aid during the 1990s. The name and titles of Exarch Proykov in Latin are the following: Exc.mus ac Rev.mus D.nus Christo Proykov, Dei et Sedis Apostolicæ gratia Episcopus titularis Briulitanus, Exarcha Apostolicus Sophiæ pro catholicis ritus byzantini-slavi in Bulgaria commorantibus, Præses Conferentiæ Episcopalis Bulgariæ.

References

Bishop Christo Proykov

External links

1946 births Living people Clergy from Sofia 20th-century Eastern Catholic bishops 21st-century Eastern Catholic bishops Bulgarian Eastern Catholic bishops Bulgarian Greek Catholic Church Eastern Catholic bishops in Bulgaria {{EasternCatholic-bishop-stub