Saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

Sophronius of Vratsa (or Sofroniy Vrachanski; ; 1739–1813), born Stoyko Vladislavov (), was a

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

n cleric and one of the leading figures of the early

Bulgarian National Revival The Bulgarian Revival (, ''Balgarsko vazrazhdane'' or simply: Възраждане, ''Vazrazhdane'', and ), sometimes called the Bulgarian National Revival, was a period of socio-economic development and national integration among Bulgarian pe ...

Biography

Vladislavov was born in the town of Kotel in Eastern Bulgaria in 1739 to the family of a cattle trader. His father, Vladislav died in 1750 in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

of the plague. When Stoiko was 3 years old his mother, Maria, died and his father remarried. Mutafchieva, Vera (1983) page 7 'Book about Sophronius' Publisher "Georgi Bakalov" Varna He attended a monastery school in his home town and studied

Slavic Slavic, Slav or Slavonic may refer to: Peoples * Slavic peoples, an ethno-linguistic group living in Europe and Asia ** East Slavic peoples, eastern group of Slavic peoples ** South Slavic peoples, southern group of Slavic peoples ** West Slav ...

and

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

books. He worked as a

frieze In classical architecture, the frieze is the wide central section of an entablature and may be plain in the Ionic order, Ionic or Corinthian order, Corinthian orders, or decorated with bas-reliefs. Patera (architecture), Paterae are also ...

weaver, but had an interest in religion and became a cleric in 1762. While working as a teacher and writer he met

Paisius of Hilendar Saint Paisius of Hilendar or Paìsiy Hilendàrski () (1722–1773) was a Bulgarian Orthodox clergyman and a key Bulgarian National Revival figure. He is most famous for being the author of '' Istoriya Slavyanobolgarskaya'' (1762), the first signi ...

in Kotel in 1765. Paisius showed him his ''

Istoriya Slavyanobolgarskaya ''Istoriya Slavyanobolgarskaya'' ( Original Cyrillic: Истори́ѧ славѣноболгарскаѧ corrected from Їстори́ѧ славѣноболгарскаѧ; ) is a book by Bulgarian scholar and clergyman Saint Paisius of Hilen ...

'', the primary work of the Bulgarian Revival, of which Vladislavov made the first copy, known as Sophronius' Copy (Софрониев препис, ''Sofroniev prepis''). Vladislavov travelled to

Mount Athos Mount Athos (; ) is a mountain on the Athos peninsula in northeastern Greece directly on the Aegean Sea. It is an important center of Eastern Orthodoxy, Eastern Orthodox monasticism. The mountain and most of the Athos peninsula are governed ...

between 1770 and 1775 and left Kotel in 1795. He served in the

Karnobat Karnobat ( ) is a town in the Burgas Province, Southeastern Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Karnobat Municipality. According to the 2021 census, the town had a population of 16,483. Geography Karnobat municipality i ...

parish and went to a monastery in Arbanasi in 1794, becoming

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Vratsa Vratsa ( ) is the largest city in northwestern Bulgaria and the administrative and economic centre of the municipality of Vratsa and Vratsa district. It is about north of Sofia, southeast of Montana. Situated at the foot of the Vrachanski Bal ...

under the name of ''Sophronius'' on 17 September. There he was engaged in social activity and initiated the sending of a political delegation of Vratsa residents to

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

according to some sources. Sophronius had close ties with the

Phanariote Phanariots, Phanariotes, or Fanariots (, , ) were members of prominent Greek families in Phanar (Φανάρι, modern ''Fener''), the chief Greek quarter of Constantinople where the Ecumenical Patriarchate is located, who traditionally occupied ...

circles. After the dislocations caused by

Osman Pazvantoğlu Osman Pazvantoğlu (; 1758 – January 27, 1807 in Vidin) was an Ottoman Bosnian soldier, governor of Vidin after 1794, and a rebel against Ottoman rule. He is also remembered as the friend of Rigas Feraios, a Greek revolutionary poet, whom he ...

, the bishop's duties became more and more difficult for Vladislavov and he left Vratsa in 1797 to wander in Northwestern Bulgaria. He spent three years in

Vidin Vidin (, ) is a port city on the southern bank of the Danube in north-western Bulgaria. It is close to the borders with Romania and Serbia, and is also the administrative centre of Vidin Province, as well as of the Metropolitan of Vidin (since ...

in a period that helped him determine his goals as a writer. He left for

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

in 1803 to serve the people as a high-standing clergyman, being released on his insistence from his bishop's post but continuing to sign under his bishop's name. Between 1806 and 1812 Sophronius of Vratsa was one of the most eminent representatives of the Bulgarian people in their communication with the Russian commanding of the

Russo-Turkish War The Russo-Turkish wars ( ), or the Russo-Ottoman wars (), began in 1568 and continued intermittently until 1918. They consisted of twelve conflicts in total, making them one of the longest series of wars in the history of Europe. All but four of ...

. He spent his last years in a monastery in Bucharest. His date of death is unknown, the last signed document being from 2 August 1813.

Works

Sophronius wrote his best and most popular works in his Bucharest period. These include ''Nedelnik'' („Неделник“)—his only printed work—a collection of precepts and sermons for every holiday of the year based on Greek and Slavic sources. The collection had historical importance in initiating book printing in modern Bulgarian and establishing the Bulgarian vernacular as the language of literature. This big book includes also several woodcuts and ornaments making it an impressive object. He also wrote another collection, ''Sunday Evangelic Interpretation'' in 1805, as well as a very popular autobiography, ''Life and Sufferings of Sinful Sophronius'' („Житие и страдания грешнаго Софрония“, ''Zhitie i Stradaniya Greshnago Sofroniya'') and an appeal to Bulgarian people, making him the most noted representative of the

Bulgarian literature Bulgarian literature is literature written by Bulgarians or residents of Bulgaria, or written in the Bulgarian language; usually the latter is the defining feature. Bulgarian literature can be said to be one of the oldest among the Slavic peop ...

of the early 19th century.

Legacy

Sophronius of Vratsa was

canonized Canonization is the declaration of a deceased person as an officially recognized saint, specifically, the official act of a Christian communion declaring a person worthy of public veneration and entering their name in the canon catalogue of sa ...

as a saint by the

Bulgarian Orthodox Church The Bulgarian Orthodox Church (), legally the Patriarchate of Bulgaria (), is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox jurisdiction based in Bulgaria. It is the first medieval recognised patriarchate outside the Pentarchy and t ...

on 31 December 1964. St. Sofroniy Knoll on Snow Island in the

South Shetland Islands The South Shetland Islands are a group of List of Antarctic and subantarctic islands, Antarctic islands located in the Drake Passage with a total area of . They lie about north of the Antarctic Peninsula, and between southwest of the n ...

Antarctica Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), it contains the geographic South Pole. ...

is named after Sophronius of Vratsa.

Descendants

Sophronius of Vratsa was married to Ganka. They had four children – Tsonko, Vladislav, Maria and Ganka. Through his son Tsonko Sophronius was ancestor of: *Prince

Stefan Bogoridi Prince (''Knyaz'' or ''Bey'') Stefan Bogoridi (born Стойко Цонков Стойков, ''Stoyko Tsonkov Stoykov''; ; ; ; ; 1775 or 1780 – 1 August 1859) was a high-ranking Ottoman statesman of Bulgarian origin, grandson of Sophro ...

(1775/1780–1859) – a high ranking Ottoman statesman. *Prince

Alexander Bogoridi Prince (''Knyaz'') Alexander Stefanov Bogoridi (; ; ) (1822 – July 17, 1910) was an Ottoman statesman of Bulgarian origin. Born in Constantinople, Alexander Bogoridi was the youngest son of one of the most influential persons in the Ottoman E ...

(1822–1910) – an Ottoman statesman and governor-general of

Eastern Rumelia Eastern Rumelia (; ; ) was an autonomous province (''oblast'' in Bulgarian, ''vilayet'' in Turkish) of the Ottoman Empire with a total area of , which was created in 1878 by virtue of the Treaty of Berlin (1878), Treaty of Berlin and ''de facto'' ...

. *Prince

Nicolae Vogoride Prince Nicolae Vogoride ( Bulgarian: Никола or Николай Богориди, ''Nikola'' or ''Nikolay Bogoridi''; Greek: Νικόλαος Βογορίδης, ''Nikolaos Vogoridis''; ; 1820 – 12 April 1863) was a caimacam (temporary repla ...

(1821–1868) – Ottoman-nominated Governor (kaymakam) of Moldavia; *

Anna de Noailles Anna, Comtesse Mathieu de Noailles (Anna Elisabeth Bibesco-Bassaraba de Brancovan; ; 15 November 1876 – 30 April 1933) was a French writer of Romanian, Greek and Bulgarian descent, a poet and a socialist feminist. She was the only female poet ...

(1876–1933) – French writer and poet;

Notes

External links

''Life and Sufferings of Sinful Sophronius''
online text *

World Digital Library The World Digital Library (WDL) is an international digital library operated by UNESCO and the United States Library of Congress. The WDL has stated that its mission is to promote international and intercultural understanding, expand the volume ...

presentation o
''Kyrīakōdromion'' or ''Sunday Book''
authored by Sophronius of Vratsa.

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

.
The Early Bulgarian Imprint Collection
at the

has works by Sophroniums of Vratsa. {{Authority control Bulgarian male writers 1739 births 1813 deaths People from Kotel, Bulgaria Bishops of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church Bulgarian saints 18th-century Bulgarian people 19th-century Bulgarian clergy 19th-century Eastern Orthodox bishops 18th-century Eastern Orthodox clergy 18th-century Bulgarian writers 19th-century Bulgarian writers