Kliment of Tarnovo (born Vasil Nikolov Drumev, bg, Васил Николов Друмев; c. 1841 – 10 July 1901, known by his title as Metropolitan Kliment of
Turnovo), was a leading
Bulgaria
Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...
n clergyman and politician. He was also a writer and one of the founders of the
Bulgarian Literature Society (BLS; now known as the
Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (abbreviated BAS; bg, Българска академия на науките, ''Balgarska akademiya na naukite'', abbreviated ''БАН'') is the National Academy of Bulgaria, established in 1869.
The Academy ...
) in 1869.
Education
He was born in
Shumen
Shumen ( bg, Шумен, also romanized as ''Shoumen'' or ''Šumen'', ) is the tenth largest city in Bulgaria and the administrative and economic capital of Shumen Province.
Etymology
The city was first mentioned as ''Šimeonis'' in 1153 by t ...
, where a village now bears his given name in a craftsman family. Originally, he was taught in his native town by
Sava Dobroplodni
Sava Dobroplodni ( bg, Сава Доброплодни; 3 December 1820 – 19 April 1894), born Sava Hadzhiiliev (Сава Хаджиилиев), was a Bulgarian writer, teacher and theatrical worker of the Bulgarian National Revival and an hono ...
and
Sava Filaretov
The Sava (; , ; sr-cyr, Сава, hu, Száva) is a river in Central and Southeast Europe, a right-bank and the longest tributary of the Danube. It flows through Slovenia, Croatia and along its border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, and finally th ...
, but afterwards attended the Odessa Seminary. He was influenced by the revolutionary
Georgi Sava Rakovski
Georgi Stoykov Rakovski ( bg, Георги Стойков Раковски) (1821 – 9 October 1867), known also Georgi Sava Rakovski (), born Sabi Stoykov Popovich (), was a 19th-century Bulgarian revolutionary, freemason, writer and an impo ...
and joined Rakovski's
First Bulgarian Legion in
Belgrade
Belgrade ( , ;, ; Names of European cities in different languages: B, names in other languages) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Serbia, largest city in Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers a ...
in 1861, where he distinguished himself in the fight against the Turkish garrison. Drumev kept close ties with
Vasil Levski
Vasil Levski ( bg, Васил Левски, spelled in old Bulgarian orthography as , ), born Vasil Ivanov Kunchev (; 18 July 1837 – 18 February 1873), was a Bulgarian revolutionary who is, today, a national hero of Bulgaria. Dubbed th ...
,
Stefan Karadzha
Stefan Karadzha (pronounced aɾadʒˈa bg, Стефан Караджа; born Stefan Todorov Dimov, Стефан Тодоров Димов; 11 May 1840 – 31 July 1868), was a Bulgarian national hero, a revolutionary from the national libe ...
and some other Bulgarian revolutionaries.
After the Legion disbanded in 1862, Kliment emigrated in
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, where he continued his education at the
Kiev
Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...
seminary
A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...
. In 1869 he settled in
Brăila
Brăila (, also , ) is a city in Muntenia, eastern Romania, a port on the Danube and the capital of Brăila County. The ''Sud-Est'' Regional Development Agency is located in Brăila.
According to the 2011 Romanian census there were 180,302 pe ...
. In 1873 he was ordained priest, and in the ensuing year he was ordained a bishop under the name Clement Branitski. He later became deputy of the metropolitan bishop in
Tulcha.
After the
Liberation of Bulgaria
The Liberation of Bulgaria is the historical process as a result of the Bulgarian Revival. In Bulgarian historiography, the liberation of Bulgaria refers to those events of the Tenth Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878) that led to the re-establishmen ...
in 1878, Drumev worked as rector of the Peter-Paul seminary near
Lyaskovets
Lyaskovets ( bg, Лясковец ) is a town in central northern Bulgaria, located in homonymous municipality of Veliko Tarnovo Province, 10 km northeast of Veliko Tarnovo, 2 km southeast of Gorna Oryahovitsa and 5 km south of the ...
. In 1884 he was chosen to be metropolitan bishop of
Turnovo.
Government career
Drumev also took part in the socio-political life in the Principality - he was a deputy in the Constituent assembly in 1879 and in the First
Grand National Assembly Great National Assembly or Grand National Assembly may refer to:
* Great National Assembly of Alba Iulia, an assembly of Romanian delegates that declared the unification of Transylvania and Romania
* Great National Assembly (Socialist Republic of R ...
that year. Drumev was a supporter of Russia and opposed openly the foreign policy of the Regency (1886–1887), the first
Stefan Stambolov
Stefan Nikolov Stambolov ( bg, Стефан Николов Стамболов) (31 January 1854 OS– 19 July 1895 OS) was a Bulgarian politician, journalist, revolutionary, and poet who served as Prime Minister and regent. He is consider ...
regime (1887–1894) and
Prince Ferdinand's regime, which led to repressive measures against him.
Although a fairly reluctant political figure, in 1879 Kliment agreed to become
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...
on a caretaker basis until elections could be held to fill the vacancy following the collapse of the government of
Todor Burmov Todor (Bulgarian, and sr, Тодор/Todor) is a Bulgarian, Macedonian and Serbian given name, a local rendering of the name Theodore. The Hungarian form of the name is rendered similarly as ''Tódor''. It is the most common name in Bulgarian vi ...
. Kliment government was largely inactive, serving only to continue the policies of Burmov until a successor could be appointed. He served a very brief second term in 1886 after the
9 August coup d'état in an attempt to co-ordinate opposition to the enforced abdication of
Alexander of Bulgaria
Alexander Joseph ( bg, Александър I Батенберг; 5 April 185717 November 1893), known as Alexander of Battenberg, was the first prince (''knyaz'') of the Principality of Bulgaria from 1879 until his abdication in 1886. The Bulga ...
, although before long
Stefan Stambolov
Stefan Nikolov Stambolov ( bg, Стефан Николов Стамболов) (31 January 1854 OS– 19 July 1895 OS) was a Bulgarian politician, journalist, revolutionary, and poet who served as Prime Minister and regent. He is consider ...
and
Petko Karavelov
Petko Stoichev KaravelovFrederick B. Chary, ''The History of Bulgaria'', ABC-CLIO, 2011, p. 181 ( bg, Петко Стойчев Каравелов; 24 March 1843 – 24 January 1903) was a leading Bulgarian liberal politician who served as Prime M ...
had taken over.
[S.G. Evans, ''A Short History of Bulgaria'', London, Lawrence and Wishart, 1960, p. 135] Indeed, Turnovski's involvement in the plot even led to Stambolov declaring him an outlaw briefly.
A loyal supporter of the old monarchy, Kliment refused to celebrate the arrival of the new monarch
Ferdinand I of Bulgaria
, image = Zar Ferdinand Bulgarien.jpg
, caption = Ferdinand in 1912
, reign = 5 October 1908 –
, coronation =
, succession = Tsar of Bulgaria
, predecessor = Himself as Prince
, successor = Boris III
, reig ...
, and refused to lead prayers for his arrival 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 ...
. Stambolov moved against Kliment and expelled him from Sofia, whilst depriving him of much of his power. A strong supporter of
Russia
Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...
, he remained a harsh critic of the new King, although ultimately even his own flock turned against him and he was detained by the government. He was eventually released and publicly made peace with Ferdinand.
With Russia trusting Kliment, in summer 1895 he headed the Bulgarian parliamentary delegation in
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...
which had to reconcile Bulgaria with Russia, which terminated their official relations in November 1886. His mission was successful. But when he saw that Ferdinand was still not changing his attitude towards Russia, Kliment took pity on his own actions, because they helped Ferdinand to be recognized as a legal Bulgarian ruler.
Writer
As a writer, Kliment was father of Bulgarian fiction. He wrote the first original short story in Bulgarian, ''A Woeful Family'' (1860). Some of his important works include ''Student and benefactors or what is another's is another's'' (1864) and the
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
''Ivanko, the killer of Asen I'' (1872).
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Turnovski, Kliment
1841 births
1901 deaths
People from Shumen
Conservative Party (Bulgaria) politicians
Prime Ministers of Bulgaria
Members of the National Assembly (Bulgaria)
19th-century Eastern Orthodox archbishops
Bulgarian writers
Members of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
19th-century Bulgarian people
Bulgarian dramatists and playwrights