Patriarch Cyril (; secular name Konstantin Markov Konstantinov []; January 3, 1901 – March 7, 1971) was the first Patriarch of the restored Patriarch of All Bulgaria, Bulgarian Patriarchate. Born in Sofia, Bulgaria, to a family of Aromanians, Aromanian descent, he adopted his religious name of Cyril in the St. Nedelya Church on December 30, 1923 and became

Metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: Areas and governance (secular and ecclesiastical) * Metropolitan archdiocese, the jurisdiction of a metropolitan archbishop ** Metropolitan bishop or archbishop, leader of an ecclesiastical "mother see" * Metropolitan ar ...

Plovdiv Plovdiv (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, second-largest city in Bulgaria, 144 km (93 miles) southeast of the capital Sofia. It had a population of 490,983 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub ...

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 :bg:Софийска епархия, Sofia''. The current patriarch Daniil of ...

, 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 ( "Успение Богородично", ''Bachkovski manastir'', ka, პეტრიწონის მონასტერი, ''Petritsonis Monasteri''), archaically the Petritsoni ...

, 189 kilometres from Sofia. Cyril's historical role in the Bulgarian popular resistance to

the Holocaust The Holocaust (), known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (), was the genocide of History of the Jews in Europe, European Jews during World War II. From 1941 to 1945, Nazi Germany and Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy ...

is recounted in the

oratorio An oratorio () is a musical composition with dramatic or narrative text for choir, soloists and orchestra or other ensemble. Similar to opera, an oratorio includes the use of a choir, soloists, an instrumental ensemble, various distinguisha ...

''A Melancholy Beauty'', composed by Georgi Andreev with libretto by Scott Cairns and Aryeh Finklestein. The text describes "Metropolitan Kyril" in 1943 confronting the captors of

Bulgarian Jews The history of the Jews in Bulgaria goes back almost 2,000 years. Jews have had a continuous presence in historic Bulgarian lands since before the 2nd century CE, and have often played an important part in the history of Bulgaria. Today, th ...

slated to be deported. Kyril first pledged to go with the deportees in solidarity and then told the guards he will block the train with his own body. The guards replied that they have just received new orders to release the Jews. For his work in saving Jews, Cyril, as well as

Stefan I of Bulgaria Stefan I was a Bulgarian prelate. He was elected Metropolitan of Sofia in 1922 and, from 1945, also served as Exarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. He actively contributed to the rescue of the Bulgarian Jews in World War II World War ...

, were recognized by

Yad Vashem Yad Vashem (; ) is Israel's official memorial institution to the victims of Holocaust, the Holocaust known in Hebrew language, Hebrew as the (). It is dedicated to preserving the memory of the Jews who were murdered; echoing the stories of the ...

as the

Righteous Among the Nations Righteous Among the Nations ( ) is a title used by Yad Vashem to describe people who, for various reasons, made an effort to assist victims, mostly Jews, who were being persecuted and exterminated by Nazi Germany, Fascist Romania, Fascist Italy, ...

in 2001. Cyril was succeeded by

Maxim of Bulgaria Patriarch Maxim (Maximus) () (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 Minko ...

References

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