Sophronius of Wraza

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Autoportrait of Sophronius von Wraza

Sophronius of Vratsa (common transcription: Sofronij Wratschanski or Vratchanski ; Bulgarian Софроний Врачански , maiden name: Stojko Wladislawow (Bulgarian Стойко Владиславов ); * 1739 in Kotel , Oblast Burgas , † 1813 in Bucharest ) was a Bulgarian bishop , historian, writer and a the activists of the Bulgarian National Revival .

Life

As a teenager, Sophronius attended a Greek-language school in Kotel. He later worked as a teacher. According to tradition, Païssi von Hilandar is said to have inspired him after an encounter to make a copy of the "Slav-Bulgarian history" (Bulgarian История славянобългарска ). This copy is considered to be the first in the city of Kotel. He bequeathed this edition to his city and deposited it in the "Peter and Paulus" church so that everyone could find out about the history of his people. In 1762 Sophronius was ordained a priest in his hometown of Kotel. In 1792 he left Kotel because of differences with a confrere. In the following time he worked as a priest in the region around Karnobat . He then moved to Arbanasi , where he enjoyed great popularity. From there he made several trips. He visited the holy monasteries in Athos and the Rila monastery . After the death of his wife, he entered the Kapinowo monastery at Veliko Tarnowo under the name Serafim , and took over its management a little later.

On September 13, 1794 he was ordained Metropolitan of the Eparchy of Wraza , after which he called himself only Sofronij. He was the first Bulgarian bishop for centuries. The Wraza area was very troubled at this time. The Ottoman administrator of the Vidin region - the Bosniak Pasha Osman Pazvantoğlu rebelled against the Ottomans. Conditions similar to civil war were the order of the day. During the fighting, the region fell victim to marauding Turkish rioters ( Başı Bozuk ) and Circassians . The Bulgarian population fled to neighboring countries and Russia. Because of the chaos, Sofronij was also barely able to fulfill his duties as bishop and in 1797 had to go into exile across the Danube to Wallachia. In 1803 he arrived in Bucharest , where he worked as a teacher at the theological college. In 1804, in exile, he wrote his autobiography, influenced by Dositej Obradović 's “Life and Adventure” - “Life and Suffering of Sinful Sofronij” (Bulgarian Житие и страдание грешнаго Софрония). He spent the last years of his life in a monastery near Bucharest.

Sofroniy was also politically active. At his suggestion, a Bulgarian delegation went to Russia (1804–1808). He also tried to activate the Bulgarian emigrants in Bucharest by founding a political circle. During the Russo-Turkish War from 1806 to 1812 he was one of the most respected representatives of the Bulgarian people among the Russian generals. A year before his death, he called on the Bulgarian population to receive the Russian troops as liberators and to support them in every way possible. He warned her - "the bright day that has been waited for 400 years is near" and gave her hope - "Your suffering became known all over Europe and your torment was mentioned and described in all newspapers".

In addition to his autobiography and the transcripts of the “Slav-Bulgarian history”, Sofronij wrote several short stories and philosophical wisdom in the spirit of ecclesiastical and spiritual enlightenment. He worked not only as a writer and cleric , but also a draftsman and calligrapher . There are also a few car portraits among the works that have been preserved . The exact date of his death is not known. The last document he signed was dated August 2, 1813, which is considered a possible time of death. On December 31, 1964 was Sofronij by the Bulgarian Church canonized .

Literary activity and works

  • 1765 First copy of the "Slav-Bulgarian History" ( Bulgar . "История славянобългарска" ) for the "Peter and Paul" Church in Kotel. Today it is in the Bulgarian National Library "Cyril and Methodius".
  • 1781 Second copy of the "Slav-Bulgarian History" ( Bulgar . "История славянобългарска" ) for personal use. It is now kept in the library of the Romanian Academy of Science.
  • 1804 autobiography - "Life and Suffering of Sinful Sofronij" (Bulgarian "Житие и страдание грешнаго Софрония" ), first printed in 1862 by Georgi Sawa Rakovsky .
  • 1805 "Nedelnoe Evangelskoe Tolkowanie" - ( Bulgar . "Неделное евангелское толкование" ),
  • 1805 “Book of 1805 about the Christian Orthodox, Jewish and Mohammedan religions”, divided into 3 chapters; one for each religion.
  • 1806 "Kiriakodroumion siretsch Nedelnik" ( Bulgar . "Кириакодромион сиреч Неделник" ). It is considered the first Bulgarian book to be printed in the New Bulgarian language. Printed in Bucharest in 1806.
  • 1812 “Appeal for the Bulgarian People” (Bulgarian “Възвание към българския народ” ).

See also

Sources and references

Parts of this page are based on the article Софроний Врачански in the Bulgarian Wikipedia and other Bulgarian sources. The article Софроний Врачански in the Bulgarian Wikipedia is based on the website SLOVOTO - Virtual Library of Bulgarian Literature. Approval has been given to publish biographies in Wikipedia articles.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Härtel / Schönfeld: Bulgaria , 1998, p. 92
  2. ^ German edition: Insel Verlag Leipzig 1972.
  3. ↑ Part of the book Nedelnik
  4. ↑ Потребител: Borislav / Разрешение Словото ( Bulgarian ) Retrieved November 3, 2019.

Web links

Commons : Sophronius von Wraza  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
predecessor Office successor
- Metropolitan of Vratsa
1794 - 1803 		Agapij
personal data
SURNAME Sophronius of Wraza
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Stoyko Vladislavov
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Bulgarian historian and writer
DATE OF BIRTH 1739
PLACE OF BIRTH Kotel , Sliven Oblast
DATE OF DEATH 1813
Place of death Bucharest