RELIGIOUS FIGURES from Bulgaria

Top 10

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Bulgarian Religious Figures of all time. This list of famous Bulgarian Religious Figures is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Bulgarian Religious Figures.

1. John of Rila (876 - 946)

With an HPI of 60.58, John of Rila is the most famous Bulgarian Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages on wikipedia.

Saint John of Rila, also known as Ivan of Rila (Bulgarian: Свети преподобни Йоан Рилски Чудотворец, romanized: Svеti prеpodobni Yoan Rilski Chudotvorеts, lit. 'Saint John of Rila the Wondermaker'; c. 876–946), was the first Bulgarian hermit. He was revered as a saint while he was still alive. The legend surrounding him tells of wild animals that freely came up to him and birds that landed in his hands. His followers founded many churches in his honor, including the famous Rila Monastery. One of these churches, Saint John of Rila was only discovered in 2008 in the town of Veliko Tarnovo. Today, he is honored as the patron saint of the Bulgarians and as one of the most important saints in the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.

2. Jeremias II of Constantinople (1536 - 1595)

With an HPI of 57.74, Jeremias II of Constantinople is the 2nd most famous Bulgarian Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Jeremias II Tranos (Greek: Ἰερεμίας Τρανός; c. 1536 – 4 September 1595) was Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople three times between 1572 and 1595.

3. Dobri Dobrev (1914 - 2018)

With an HPI of 53.79, Dobri Dobrev is the 3rd most famous Bulgarian Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 20 different languages.

Dobri Dimitrov Dobrev (Bulgarian: Добри Димитров Добрев, pronounced [ˈdɔbri dimiˈtrɔf ˈdɔbrɛf]; 20 July 1914 – 13 February 2018), better known as Grandpa Dobri, Elder Dobri (Bulgarian: Дядо Добри, romanized: Dyado Dobri) or The Saint of Bailovo, was a Bulgarian ascetic who walked over 20 kilometres (12 mi) each day to sit or stand in front of the Cathedral of Alexander Nevsky in Sofia to collect money for charitable causes. Dobrev donated all the money he collected to charities, orphanages, churches, and monasteries. He turned 100 in July 2014. In Bulgarian, his name translates as "good" or "kind".

4. John XIV of Constantinople (1282 - 1347)

With an HPI of 53.05, John XIV of Constantinople is the 4th most famous Bulgarian Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

John XIV, surnamed Kalekas (Greek: Ἰωάννης Καλέκας; c. 1282 – 29 December 1347), was the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople from 1334 to 1347. He was an anti-hesychast and opponent of Gregory Palamas. He was an active participant in the Byzantine civil war of 1341–1347 as a member of the regency for John V Palaiologos, against John VI Kantakouzenos.

5. Neophyte of Bulgaria (1945 - 2024)

With an HPI of 52.72, Neophyte of Bulgaria is the 5th most famous Bulgarian Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 22 different languages.

Patriarch Neophyte (Bulgarian: Патриарх Неофит, romanized: Patriarch Neofit; secular name: Simeon Nikolov Dimitrov; Bulgarian: Симеон Николов Димитров; 15 October 1945 – 13 March 2024) was the Patriarch of All Bulgaria, head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church from 24 February 2013 until his death on 13 March 2024. Prior to his election, he was the Metropolitan Bishop of Ruse (2001–2013) and Bishop of Dorostol and Cherven (1994–2001).

6. Euthymius of Tarnovo (1317 - 1402)

With an HPI of 51.67, Euthymius of Tarnovo is the 6th most famous Bulgarian Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Saint Euthymius of Tarnovo (also Evtimiy; Bulgarian: Свети Евтимий Търновски, Sveti Evtimiy Tarnovski) was Patriarch of Bulgaria between 1375 and 1393. Regarded as one of the most important figures of medieval Bulgaria, Euthymius was the last head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in the Second Bulgarian Empire. Arguably the best esteemed of all Bulgarian patriarchs, Euthymius was a supporter of hesychasm and an authoritative figure in the Eastern Orthodox world of the time.

7. Maxim of Bulgaria (1914 - 2012)

With an HPI of 51.65, Maxim of Bulgaria is the 7th most famous Bulgarian Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.

Patriarch Maxim (Maximus) (Bulgarian: Патриарх Максим) (born Marin Naydenov Minkov, October 29, 1914 – November 6, 2012) was the head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church from 1971 until his death. He was born in Oreshak, the second of the two children of Nayden Minkov Rachev and Pena Bordzhukova, but very little is known about his parents' background. He was educated only in his native mountain village of Oreshak but from his late childhood, he became a novice monk in the Troyan Monastery and then studied Orthodox Theology at Sofia University, from which he graduated in 1935 with honours. In 1942 he graduated from the Saint Clement of Ohrid State University of Sofia. He took Holy Orders in 1941 and became secretary general of the Holy Synod in 1955 and titular bishop of Branit on December 30, 1956. In 1960, he was elected Metropolitan of Lovech on October 30, 1960, and won the election as Patriarch on July 4, 1971, after Patriarch Kyril died. In the early 1990s, a split in the Bulgarian Church was stimulated by the government of the Union of Democratic Forces, based on the alleged cooperation and affiliation of Maxim with the former regime. However, Maxim was able to take control of the majority of the parishes and to prevent any schismatic threats within the Church. The faction against Maxim formed the Bulgarian Orthodox Church – Alternative synod.

8. Ivan II of Bulgaria (1300 - 1300)

With an HPI of 50.48, Ivan II of Bulgaria is the 8th most famous Bulgarian Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.

Ivan II (Bulgarian: Иван II, or Йоан II, Ioan II, also styled inconsistently Ivan IV or Ioan IV), reigned as tsar of Bulgaria from 1298 to 1299. The date of his birth is unknown, but probably not much earlier than c. 1290. He died as a monk in exile before 1330. Ivan II succeeded his father Smilets as emperor in Tărnovo in 1298. The new ruler was a child, and the government was in the hands of his mother, the unnamed daughter of sebastocrator Constantine Palaiologos and niece of Michael VIII Palaiologos called simply "Smiltsena" ("wife of Smilets"). The widowed empress defeated Smilets' brothers Radoslav and Voysil (Vojsil), who sought refuge in the Byzantine Empire and entered into Byzantine service. To meet this threat and the invasion of the Mongol prince Chaka, Ivan II's mother sought an alliance with Aldimir (Eltimir), the brother of the former ruler George Terter I. Aldimir was accordingly married to Smilets' daughter Marina (Marija) and, if this had not happened earlier, was given the title of despotēs and invested with an extensive landholding around Krăn. In 1299 the Bulgarian government attempted unsuccessfully to ally with Serbian King Stefan Milutin to the exclusion of the latter's projected alignment with the Byzantine Emperor Andronikos II Palaiologos. The regents of Ivan II were unable to strengthen their position, and abandoned Tărnovo to Chaka, who installed himself as emperor in 1299. Ivan II and his retinue settled in the possessions of Aldimir, where they may have remained even after the accession of Aldimir's nephew Theodore Svetoslav to the throne in 1300. In 1305 Ivan II's mother was negotiating with the Byzantine government in Constantinople on behalf of either Aldimir or her son, but with Aldimir's subjugation by Theodore Svetoslav in the same year, the family disappears into obscurity. Ivan II spent the remainder of his life as an exile in Byzantium, under the name Iōannēs Komnēnos Doukas Angelos Branas Palaiologos, and shortly before his death he became a monk under the name Joasaph. He died before 1330.

9. Cyril of Bulgaria (1901 - 1971)

With an HPI of 49.31, Cyril of Bulgaria is the 9th most famous Bulgarian Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 16 different languages.

Patriarch Cyril (Bulgarian: Патриарх Кирил, secular name Konstantin Markov Konstantinov, Bulgarian: Константин Марков Константинов; January 3, 1901 – March 7, 1971), was the first Patriarch of the restored Bulgarian Patriarchate. Born in Sofia, Bulgaria 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, holding the position until his death. Cyril was buried in the main church of the Bachkovo Monastery, 189 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.

10. Sophronius of Vratsa (1739 - 1813)

With an HPI of 48.06, Sophronius of Vratsa is the 10th most famous Bulgarian Religious Figure.  His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.

Saint Sophronius of Vratsa (or Sofroniy Vrachanski; Bulgarian: Софроний Врачански; 1739–1813), born Stoyko Vladislavov (Bulgarian: Стойко Владиславов), was a Bulgarian cleric and one of the leading figures of the early Bulgarian National Revival.