Petko Jordanov Christov, O.F.M.Conv. ( bg, Петко Йорданов Христов; 9 October 1950 – 14 September 2020) was a

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 Macedo ...

n Roman Catholic prelate, who served as a bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Nicopolis.

Biography

Petko Jordanov Christov was born in Velcevo,

Veliko Tarnovo Veliko Tarnovo ( bg, Велико Търново, Veliko Tărnovo, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a town in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. Often referred as the "''City of the Tsars''", Veliko Tarnovo ...

. He studied at the Professional School of Engineering, Architecture and Geodesy ("Angel Popov") in Veliko Tarnovo, in the fields of

civil engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewa ...

and

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing building ...

. From 1977 to 1985 in Bulgaria he studied to become a priest and was ordained on 15 December 1985 by Bishop

Samuel Dzhundrin Samuel Dzhundrin (26 April 1920 – 19 March 1998) was a Bulgarian Roman Catholic priest, an Augustinian friar and bishop of Nikopol, Bulgaria. Early life Dzhundrin was born in what is now the town of Rakovski. After the fourth section, he was ...

. In 1990 Christov gave his first vows in the order of

Franciscan , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...

s on 15 December 1993. He served in parishes in

Belene Belene ( bg, Белене ) is a town in Pleven Province, Northern Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Belene Municipality. The town is situated on the right bank of the Danube river, close to the town of Svishtov. Ge ...

and Tranchovitsa. On 18 October 1994 he was consecrated 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 ...

as Bishop of Nicopolis. On 6 January 1995 he was ordained at

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal e ...

in the Vatican by John Paul II, with cardinals

Giovanni Battista Re Giovanni Battista Re (born 30 January 1934) is an Italian cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church whose service has been primarily in the Roman Curia. He was elevated to the rank of cardinal in 2001. He was prefect of the Congregation for Bishops ...

and

Jorge María Mejía Jorge María Mejía (31 January 1923 – 9 December 2014) was an Argentine cardinal of the Catholic Church ( Roman Rite). Early life and ordination Mejía was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and ordained to the priesthood for the Metropolit ...

being his co-consecrators. From 1992 to 1993 he was one of the founders of Caritas in Belem. Christov was president of the Catholic charity Caritas in Bulgaria since 1997 and a member of the

Episcopal Conference of Bulgaria Episcopal conference of Bulgaria (Latin: Conferentia episcoporum Bulgariæ) is an ecclesiastical institution, consisting of bishops of the Catholic dioceses in the country. It is bi-ritual because it includes in its composition dioceses in Latin a ...

. On December 1, 2001 in Sofia at the XVIII National Conference of Caritas Bulgaria he was elected its president. In the Episcopal Conference of Bulgaria he was the chairman of the following committees: *

Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life The Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, formerly called Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (CICLSAL; la, Congregatio pro Institutis Vitae Consecratae et Soci ...

Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity The Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, previously named the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU), is a dicastery whose origins are associated with the Second Vatican Council which met intermittently from 1962 to 1965. Po ...

Pontifical Council Cor Unum The Pontifical Council ''Cor Unum'' for Human and Christian Development was a pontifical council of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church from 1971 to 2016. History The Pontifical Council was established by Pope Paul VI on 15 July 1971 an ...

After illness, Bishop Christov died on September 14, 2020 in the hospital in the city of Ruse at the age of 69. He was buried in a special chapel in the cathedral in Ruse on September 19, 2020.

Distinctions

* Order pro merito Melitensi, bestowed by the ambassador of the

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta ( it, Sovrano Militare Ordine Ospedaliero di San Giovanni di Gerusalemme, di Rodi e di Malta; ...

His Excellency Excellency is an honorific style given to certain high-level officers of a sovereign state, officials of an international organization, or members of an aristocracy. Once entitled to the title "Excellency", the holder usually retains the righ ...

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Camillo Dzukoli in a ceremony in

St Paul of the Cross Cathedral The St Paul of the Cross Cathedral ( bg, Катедрален храм „Свети Павел от Кръста“, ''Katedralen hram „Sveti Pavel ot Krasta“'') is a Roman Catholic cathedral in the city of Rousse in northeastern Bulgaria. I ...

Rousse Ruse (also transliterated as Rousse, Russe; bg, Русе ) is the fifth largest city in Bulgaria. Ruse is in the northeastern part of the country, on the right bank of the Danube, opposite the Romanian city of Giurgiu, approximately south of ...

, 30 November 2011, for his active work and cooperation related to charitable activities of the

Catholic Church in Bulgaria The Catholic Church is the fourth largest religious congregation in Bulgaria, after Eastern Orthodoxy, Islam and Protestantism. Its roots in the country date to the Middle Ages and are part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual lead ...

References

External links

Catholic Hierarchy website

caritas-bulgaria.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christov, Petko Jordanov 1950 births 2020 deaths Conventual Franciscan bishops 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Bulgaria 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Bulgaria People from Veliko Tarnovo Province Bulgarian Franciscans