08.10 - The Bulgarian Orthodox Church is declared independent

On 8 October 927, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church was declared autocephalous (independent of that of the Byzantine Empire). The recognition was granted by the Byzantine Emperor Romanos I Lekapin and was part of a peace treaty concluded between Byzantium and Bulgaria at the beginning of the reign of Tsar Peter I, which ensured thirty-six years of peace after the fierce rivalry during the time of Tsar Simeon the Great. Thus, the Patriarchate of Veliko Preslav became the first patriarchate outside the Pentarchy– the Orthodox canon declaring Rome, Constantinople, Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem as the highest Christian spiritual centers.

The treaty was sealed through the marriage of Tsar Peter I and the daughter of Roman Lekapin - Maria Lekapina, and Damian, Bishop of Durster (Silistra), was elected as the first Bulgarian patriarch.

The event is the culmination of the nearly century-long Christianization of Bulgaria, initiated through the establishment of church institutions on the Byzantine model, the training of Bulgarian clergy to replace the Greek ones, the international recognition of the independence of the Bulgarian Church and its missionary activity outside Bulgaria. The declaration of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church as independent can be considered the peak of the so-called "golden age" of Bulgarian literature and culture during the First Bulgarian Kingdom.

The fundamental transformation of Bulgarian culture and society during this period was successively supported by three Bulgarian rulers – Boris I, Simeon the Great and Peter I, and led to remarkable achievements in the field of church art, education and architecture. A vivid example of the cultural development of the country at that time is the activity of the Preslav Literary School, which created the Cyrillic alphabet, translated key Christian texts into Bulgarian and produced works that were fundamental to Bulgarian spiritual literature.

" Therefore, I, the despised one, who was protected, as I said, to translate from Greek into Slavonic the interpretation of the Holy Gospel, was afraid and trembled, seeing words higher than my understanding and strength. But then, afraid of death because of [my] disobedience, I began, unable to write everything but the usual Sunday [gospel interpretations], asking for help from the prayers of all Christ-lovers. "

- Constantine of Preslav, Teacher's Gospel, Preface

Did you like it? Take a minute to support the EKIP on Patreon!