Patriarch Cyril of Bulgaria

Patriarch Cyril (, secular name Konstantin Markov Konstantinov, bg, Константин Марков Константинов; January 3, 1901 – March 7, 1971), was the first Patriarch of the restored

Bulgarian Patriarchate The Bulgarian Orthodox Church ( bg, Българска православна църква, translit=Balgarska pravoslavna tsarkva), legally the Patriarchate of Bulgaria ( bg, Българска патриаршия, links=no, translit=Balgarsk ...

. Born 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 h ...

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 ...

to a family of Aromanian descent, he adopted his religious name of Cyril in the St. Nedelya Church on December 30, 1923 and became Metropolitan of Plovdiv in 1938. On May 10, 1953 Cyril was elected

Patriarch of Bulgaria The Patriarch of All Bulgaria is the patriarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. The patriarch is officially styled as ''Patriarch of All Bulgaria and Metropolitan of Sofia''. Patriarch Neophyte acceded to this position on 24 February 2013. Hist ...

, holding the position until his death. Cyril was buried in the main church of the

Bachkovo Monastery The Bachkovo Monastery of the Dormition of the Theotokos ( bg, Бачковски манастир "Успение Богородично", ''Bachkovski manastir'', ka, პეტრიწონის მონასტერი, ''Petritsonis M ...

, 89 kilometres from Sofia. Cyril's historical role in the Bulgarian popular resistance to the Holocaust is recounted in the oratorio "A Melancholy Beauty", composed by Georgi Andreev with libretto by Scott Cairns and Aryeh Finklestein, first performed in June 2011 in Washington, D.C. The text describes "Metropolitan Kyril" in 1943 confronting the captors of Bulgarian Jews slated to be deported. Kyril first pledges to go with the deportees in solidarity and then tells the guards he will block the train with his own body. The guards reply that they have just received new orders to release the Jews. 1901 births 1971 deaths Clergy from Sofia Eastern Orthodox Righteous Among the Nations Bulgarian Righteous Among the Nations Patriarchs of Bulgaria Bulgarian people of Aromanian descent {{orthodox-clergy-stub