Ignatius ( bg, Игнатий) was a Patriarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in the 13th century during the rule of Emperor

Konstantin Tih Konstantin Tih ( bg, Константин Тих Асен) or Constantine I Tikh (Константин I), was the tsar of Bulgaria from 1257 to 1277, he was offered the throne from Mitso Asen. He led the Bulgarian Empire at a time when the nearb ...

(r. 1257–1277). He is listed as the fourth Patriarch presiding over the Bulgarian Church from

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 ...

in the medieval '' Book of Boril''. The name of Ignatius is linked to the firm position of the Bulgarian Church to maintain the purity of Orthodoxy during the Second Council of Lyon in 1272–1274. In the council the Byzantine Emperor

Michael VIII Palaeologus Michael VIII Palaiologos or Palaeologus ( el, Μιχαὴλ Δούκας Ἄγγελος Κομνηνὸς Παλαιολόγος, Mikhaēl Doukas Angelos Komnēnos Palaiologos; 1224 – 11 December 1282) reigned as the co-emperor of the Empire ...

and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople were inclined for a union between the Eastern and the Western Churches in order to avoid war with

Charles I of Naples Charles I (early 1226/12277 January 1285), commonly called Charles of Anjou, was a member of the royal Capetian dynasty and the founder of the second House of Anjou. He was Count of Provence (1246–85) and Forcalquier (1246–48, 1256–85) ...

. They also demanded the liquidation of the Bulgarian Patriarchate. Patriarch Ignatius decisively opposed those moves and was called a "pillar of Orthodoxy". From that period dates the idea in

medieval Bulgarian literature Medieval Bulgarian literature is Bulgarian literature in the Middle Ages. With the Bulgarian Empire welcoming the disciples of Cyril and Methodius after they were expelled from Great Moravia, the country became a centre of rich literary activity ...

that the capital of the Bulgarian Empire Tarnovo was a "New Constantinople" (i.e.

Third Rome The continuation, succession and revival of the Roman Empire is a running theme of the history of Europe and the Mediterranean Basin. It reflects the lasting memories of power and prestige associated with the Roman Empire itself. Several polit ...

). The city was called in literary works Tsarevgrad Tarnov – the Imperial city of Tarnovo, after the Bulgarian name of Constantinople Tsarigrad.

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* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Ignatius 13th-century deaths 13th-century Bulgarian people Patriarchs of Bulgaria People from Veliko Tarnovo