Metropolitan Paisiy (in the world Alexander Raikov Ankov , Bulgarian. Alexander Raikov Ankov ; 6 ( 18 ) August 1888 , Svoge , Bulgaria - May 16, 1974 , Vratsa , Bulgaria ) - Bishop of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church , Metropolitan of Vrachany .
| Metropolitan Paisius | ||
|---|---|---|
| ||
| September 21, 1930 - May 16, 1974 | ||
| Predecessor | Clement (Shivachev) | |
| Successor | Kallinik (Aleksandrov) | |
| ||
| April 1, 1923 - September 21, 1930 | ||
| Predecessor | Department established | |
| Successor | Sofroniy (Chavdarov) | |
| Birth name | Alexander Raikov Ankov | |
| Birth | ||
| Death | ||
Biography
He was born on August 6 (18), 1888 [1] . He received his basic education in the village of Svidnya, and the pro-gymnasium - in the village of Iskrets and Sofia.
In the autumn of 1903 he entered the Constantinople Seminary , from which he graduated in 1909. While studying there, he attracted the attention of Bulgarian Exarch Joseph , who later became his spiritual mentor.
On May 11, 1909, in the Bulgarian church of St. Stephen in Constantinople, he was tonsured as a monk with the name of Paisius and ordained a deacon . On the same day he was appointed deacon and personal secretary of the Bulgarian Exarch Joseph I.
From 1911 to 1914 he studied at the Theological Faculty of Chernivtsi University , Austria-Hungary . He passed the first doctoral exam, after which he returned to Sofia .
From the summer of 1914 to the summer of 1915, he stayed with his spiritual elder and trustee Exarch Joseph.
From the end of 1915 to the spring of 1916, he attended lectures on philosophy in Munich , Germany, and at the end of 1916 he passed the second doctoral exam in the Chernivtsi Theological Faculty, receiving a diploma and a doctorate degree in theology .
In the fall of 1916, he was appointed deacon at the Vicar of the Church of the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Church.
On April 8, 1917, in the Metropolitan Cathedral Church of Holy Week, he was ordained to the priesthood by Metropolitan Sophia Parfenii and appointed Ephimeria, a librarian and temporary head of the Cultural and Educational Department at the Holy Synod.
In the autumn of the same year, he was appointed a teacher at the Sofia Theological Seminary , and a month later he was sent by the Holy Synod to Munich and Leipzig , where he studied law at the Faculty of Law until 1921 and specialized in canonical law .
After returning to Sofia, he was again appointed teacher at the Sofia Theological Seminary and legal advisor at the Holy Synod.
From April 8, 1922 - the protosingel of the Sofia Metropolis . During his ministry, on May 24, 1922, by the decision of the Holy Synod, he was elevated to the dignity of archimandrite .
On April 1, 1923, he was consecrated as Bishop of Znepolsky in the Moscow Cathedral Church of Holy Week and was appointed Vicar of St. Sophia Metropolitan. He remained in this position until August 1930.
August 10, 1930 was elected, and on September 21 of that year, he was canonically approved by the Metropolitan of Vrachany . In his more than forty-year ministry, a new building was constructed for the bishop's department, churches were restored and new churches were built, courses for theological education of priests were opened, and the monthly diocesan journal, Spiritual Renaissance, was published [2] .
In 1934 he became a permanent member of the small staff of the Holy Synod. From January 4, 1949 to January 3, 1951, he was the viceroy of the Synod [3] , that is, the formal head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
He died on May 16, 1974 in the town of Vratsa. Buried in the vestibule of the Cathedral Church of St. Nicholas.
Notes
- ↑ http://meteff.blog.bg/lichni-dnevnici/2008/02/21/bylgarska-ekzarhiia.165563
- ↑ MEDICINE DIOCESE // Orthodox encyclopedia . - M .: Church Research Center "Orthodox Encyclopedia" , 2005. - T. IX. - p. 500-502. - 752 s. - 39 000 copies - ISBN 5-89572-015-3 .
- ↑ Dink, Kamen. History on Bulgarian grind: Chetiva. Vratsa, Editorial Board Spiritually in Your Own, 1954. p. 108