Kiril (Patriarch)

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Kiril (ca.1930)

Kiril (born January 3, 1901 in Sofia ; † March 7, 1971 ibid; secular name: Konstantin Markow Konstantinow , other translation: Konstantin Markov Konstantinov , Bulgarian Константин Марков Константинов ), also called Cyril of Plovdiv -Orthodox clergy , was a Bulgarian cleric. From 1938 to 1953 he was Metropolitan of Plovdiv , from 1953 until his death he was Patriarch .

Life

Konstantin Markow Konstantinow grew up with six siblings in the Jewish quarter Jutch Bunar of Sofia. His family was very Christian. Before he took the Christian path, however, he first became a communist as a youth and took part in protests against the government.

He then studied theology and philosophy at the universities of Sofia , Belgrade and Berlin . After his doctorate he was ordained a clergyman by Metropolitan Stefan and took the name Kiril.

In 1938 he became Metropolitan of Plovdiv. As a representative of the equality of all people, he stood in opposition to the law for the protection of the nation and thus also as an opponent of National Socialism during the period of cooperation between Bulgaria and the Third Reich .

In March 1943, Kiril publicly expressed his solidarity with the Jewish community of Plovdiv. The background to this was a large-scale deportation of around 600 Jewish people that was to take place on March 10th. The people were arrested and held in a Jewish school. Kiril was informed of this early in the morning and immediately turned to Tsar Boris III. Together with his followers, he went to the school and used all means to prevent the Jewish people from being deported. Among other things, he announced that he would personally lie down on the tracks to prevent a departure. In fact, he managed to prevent the deportation that day. Those arrested were later released.

Gravestone of the patriarch in the church of the Batschkovo monastery

In May 1944 he intervened again when five men were arrested in Plovdiv on suspicion of having joined the partisan movement . He turned to the local police and obtained the immediate release of a man. The other four men were also released later that day.

In 1953, Kiril became the first patriarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and also became Metropolitan of Sofia. During his tenure, he also traveled to Israel. Kiril died in Sofia in 1971 and was buried in the Batschkowo Monastery. During the communist regime, his commitment to his fellow Jewish citizens was largely ignored. In 2001 he was posthumously honored by Yad Vashem as Righteous Among the Nations .

literature

  • Iva Arakchiyska: The Bulgarian Orthoidox Church: Metropolitan Stefan of Sofia and Metropolitan Kyrill of Plovdiv . In: Silent Heroes Memorial Center in the German Resistance Memorial Center Foundation (Ed.): Can a person remain inactive? Help for persecuted Jews in Bulgaria 1940–1944. 1st edition. Lukas, Berlin 2016, ISBN 978-3-86732-254-6 , pp. 94-115 .

Web links

Commons : Kiril  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Iva Arakchiyska: The Bulgarian Orthodox Church: Metropolitan Stefan of Sofia, Metropolitan Kirill of Plovdiv . Lukas, Berlin 2016, p. 97 .
  2. ↑ Iva Arakchiyska: The Bulgarian Orthodox Church: Metropolitan Stefan of Sofia, Metropolitan Kirill of Plovdiv . Lukas, Berlin 2016, p. 103-104 .
  3. ↑ Iva Arakchiyska: The Bulgarian Orthodox Church: Metropolitan Stefan of Sofia, Metropolitan Kirill of Plovdiv . Lukas, Berlin 2016, p. 112 .
  4. ↑ Two Bulgarian Clergymen honored as Righteous Among the Nations. Yad Vashem , March 12, 2002, accessed May 5, 2018 .
  5. ↑ Iva Arakchiyska: The Bulgarian Orthodox Church: Metropolitan Stefan of Sofia, Metropolitan Kirill of Plovdiv . Lukas, Berlin 2016, p. 113 .
personal data
SURNAME Kiril
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Konstantinow, Konstantin Markow (secular name); Kiril of Plovdiv (religious name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bulgarian Orthodox clergyman
DATE OF BIRTH January 3, 1901
PLACE OF BIRTH Sofia
DATE OF DEATH March 7, 1971
Place of death Sofia