Petko Jordanov Christov, OFM Conv. (; 9 October 1950 – 14 September 2020) was a Bulgarian Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Nicopolis from 1994 until his death in 2020. He was a member of the

Order of Friars Minor Conventual The Order of Friars Minor Conventual (O.F.M. Conv.) is a male religious fraternity in the Catholic Church and a branch of the Franciscan Order. Conventual Franciscan Friars are identified by the affix O.F.M. Conv. after their names. They are ...

Biography

Petko Jordanov Christov was born in Velcevo,

Veliko Tarnovo Veliko Tarnovo (, ; "Great Tarnovo") is a city in north central Bulgaria and the administrative centre of Veliko Tarnovo Province. It is the historical and spiritual capital of Bulgaria. Often referred to as the "''City of the Tsars''", Velik ...

. He studied at the Professional School of Engineering, Architecture and Geodesy ("Angel Popov") in Veliko Tarnovo, in the fields of

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

and

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

. From 1977 to 1985 in Bulgaria he studied to become a priest and was ordained on 15 December 1985 by Bishop Samuel Dzhundrin. In 1990 Christov gave his first vows in the order of

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

s on 15 December 1993. He served in parishes in

Belene Belene ( ) is a town in Pleven Province, Northern Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Belene Municipality. The town is situated on the right bank of the Danube river, close to the town of Svishtov. Geography Locati ...

and Tranchovitsa. On 18 October 1994 he was consecrated by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

as Bishop of Nicopolis. On 6 January 1995 he was ordained at

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the city of Rome, Italy. It was initiall ...

in the Vatican by John Paul II, with cardinals

Giovanni Battista Re Giovanni Battista Re (born 30 January 1934) is an Catholic Church in Italy, Italian Catholic prelate who has served as Dean of the College of Cardinals since 2020. He was elevated to the rank of Cardinal (Catholic Church), cardinal in 2001 and s ...

and

Jorge María Mejía Jorge María Mejía (31 January 1923 – 9 December 2014) was an Argentine cardinal of the Catholic Church (Roman Rite). Early life and ordination Mejía was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, and ordained to the priesthood for the Metropolitan ...

being his co-consecrators. From 1992 to 1993 he was one of the founders of Caritas in Belem. Christov was president of the Catholic charity Caritas in Bulgaria since 1997 and a member of the

Episcopal Conference of Bulgaria Episcopal conference of Bulgaria (Latin: Conferentia episcoporum Bulgariæ) is an ecclesiastical institution, consisting of bishops of the Catholic dioceses in the country. It is bi-ritual because it includes in its composition dioceses in Latin ...

. On December 1, 2001 in Sofia at the XVIII National Conference of Caritas Bulgaria he was elected its president. In the Episcopal Conference of Bulgaria he was the chairman of the following committees: *

Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life The Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, formerly called Congregation for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (DICLSAL and formerly CICLSAL; ), is the dicastery of the Roman Cu ...

Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity The Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, previously named the Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity (PCPCU), is a dicastery within the Holy See whose origins are associated with the Second Vatican Council which met intermittently fr ...

Pontifical Council Cor Unum The Pontifical Council ''Cor Unum'' (One Heart) for Human and Christian Development was a pontifical council of the Roman Curia of the Catholic Church from 1971 to 2016. History ''Cor Unum'' was established by Pope Paul VI on 15 July 1971. It ...

After illness, Bishop Christov died on September 14, 2020 in the hospital in the city of Ruse at the age of 69. He was buried in a special chapel in the cathedral in Ruse on September 19, 2020.

Distinctions

Order pro merito Melitensi The Order of Merit (; ) is the order of merit of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, established in 1920. It is awarded to recipients who have brought honour to the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, promoted Christian values and for chari ...

, bestowed by the

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or so ...

of the

Sovereign Military Order of Malta The Sovereign Military Order of Malta (SMOM), officially the Sovereign Military Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, of Rhodes and of Malta, and commonly known as the Order of Malta or the Knights of Malta, is a Catholic lay religious ...

His Excellency Excellency is an honorific style (manner of address), style given to certain high-level officers of a sovereign state, officials of an international organization, or members of an aristocracy. Once entitled to the title "Excellency", the holder ...

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Camillo Dzukoli in a ceremony in

St Paul of the Cross Cathedral The St Paul of the Cross Cathedral (, ''Katedralen hram „Sveti Pavel ot Krasta"'') is a Catholic cathedral in the city of Rousse in northeastern Bulgaria. It is the cathedral church of the Latin Catholic Diocese of Nicopoli and it is dedicated ...

Rousse Ruse (also transliterated as Rousse, Russe; ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, fifth-largest city in Bulgaria. Ruse is in the northeastern part of the country, on the right bank of the Danube, opposite the Romanian city of Giurgiu, ...

, 30 November 2011, for his active work and cooperation related to charitable activities of the

Catholic Church in Bulgaria The Catholic Church is the fourth largest religious congregation in Bulgaria, after Eastern Orthodoxy, Islam and Protestantism. Its roots in the country date to the Middle Ages and are part of the worldwide Catholic Church, under the spiritual l ...

References

External links

Catholic Hierarchy website

caritas-bulgaria.org
{{DEFAULTSORT:Christov, Petko Jordanov 1950 births 2020 deaths Conventual Franciscan bishops 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Bulgaria 21st-century Roman Catholic bishops in Bulgaria People from Veliko Tarnovo Province Bulgarian Franciscans