List of Patriarchs of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church
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The following is a list of Patriarchs of All Bulgaria, heads of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
| Title | Name | Birth name | Office | Seat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Archbishops of Drastar (870–919) | ||||
| Archbishop | Georgius | 870 – c. 886 | Drastar | |
| Archbishop | Joseph I the Confessor | c. 886 – early 10th century | Drastar | |
| Archbishop | Leontius I | 917–919 | Preslav | |
| Patriarchs of Bulgaria (919–1018) | ||||
| Patriarch uncanonical title – not recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople |
Leontius I | 919–927 | Preslav | |
| Patriarch title was canonical, i.e. recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople |
Dimitrius I | c. 927 – c. 930 | Preslav | |
| Patriarch | Sergius | c. 931 – c. 940 | Preslav | |
| Patriarch | Gregorius I | c. 940 – c. 944 | Preslav | |
| Patriarch | Damian | c. 944 – c. 972 | Preslav, Dosorostol, Sredets | |
| Patriarch | Germanus I | c. 972 – c. 990 | Sredets, Voden, Maglen, Prespa | |
| Patriarch | Nicolaus | c. 991 – c. 1000 | Prespa (?) | |
| Patriarch | Philip | c. 1000 – c. 1015 | Ohrid | |
| Patriarch | David | c. 1015 – 1018 | Ohrid | |
| After the fall of the First Bulgarian Empire under Byzantium domination in 1018 the church was deprived of its Patriarchal title and reduced to the rank of an autocephalous Archbishopric of Ohrid under the tutelage of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople until 1767.
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| Archbishops of Tarnovo (1186–1235) | ||||
| Primate title was canonical recognized by pope Innocent III in 1204 |
Vasilius I | 1186–1232 | Tarnovo | |
| Primate | Joachim I | 1232–1246 | Tarnovo | |
| Patriarchs of Bulgaria (1235–1393) | ||||
| Patriarch title was canonically recognized by the Eastern Orthodox Patriarchs in 1235 |
St. Joachim I | 1235–1246 | Tarnovo | |
| Patriarch | Visarion | c. 1246 | Tarnovo | |
| Patriarch | Vasilius II | 1246 – c. 1254 | Tarnovo | |
| Patriarch | Vasilius III | c. 1254 – 1263 | Tarnovo | |
| Patriarch | Joachim II | 1263–1272 | Tarnovo | |
| Patriarch | Ignatius | 1272–1277 | Tarnovo | |
| Patriarch | St. Macarius | 1277–1284 | Tarnovo | |
| Patriarch | Joachim III | 1284–1300 | Tarnovo | |
| Patriarch | Dorotheus | 1300 – c. 1315 | Tarnovo | |
| Patriarch | Romanus | c. 1315 – c. 1325 | Tarnovo | |
| Patriarch | Theodosius I | c. 1325 – 1337 | Tarnovo | |
| Patriarch | Joannicius I | 1337 – c. 1340 | Tarnovo | |
| Patriarch | Simeon | c. 1341 – 1348 | Tarnovo | |
| Patriarch | Theodosius II | 1348–1363 | Tarnovo | |
| Patriarch | Joannicius I | 1363–1375 | Tarnovo | |
| Patriarch | Euthymius of Tarnovo | 1375–1394 | Tarnovo | |
| Exarchs of Bulgarians (1872–1915) | ||||
| Exarch title was granted by a decree (firman) of the Sultan, promulgated on 28 February 1870. Unrecognized by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople |
Ilarion | Ivan Ivanov | 12 February 1872 – 16 February 1872 | Constantinople, Ottoman Empire |
| Exarch | Anthim I | Atanas Mihaylov Chalakov | 16 February 1872 – 14 April 1877 | Constantinople, Ottoman Empire |
| Exarch | Joseph I | Lazar Yovchev | 24 April 1877 – 20 June 1915 | Constantinople, Ottoman Empire; Sofia, Bulgaria |
| Vicars – Chairmen of the Holy Synod (1915–1945) | ||||
| Metropolitan | Parthenius | Petar Popstefanov Ivanov Popov | 1915–1918 | Sofia |
| Metropolitan | Vasilius of Dorostol-Cherven | Vasil Mihaiylov | 1918–1921 | Sofia |
| Metropolitan | Maxim of Plovdiv | Marin Penchov Pelov | 1921 – 28 March 1928 | Sofia |
| Metropolitan | Clement of Vratsa | Grigoriy Ivanov Shivachev | 28 March 1928 – 3 May 1930 | Sofia |
| Metropolitan | Neophyte of Vidin | Nikola Dimitrov Karaabov | 4 May 1930 – 15 October 1944 | Sofia |
| Metropolitan | Stefan of Sofia | Stoyan Popgeorgiev Shokov | 16 October 1944 – 21 January 1945 | Sofia |
| Exarchs of Bulgarians (1945–1948) | ||||
| Exarch | Stefan I of Bulgaria | Stoyan Popgeorgiev Shokov | 21 January 1945 – 6 September 1948 | Sofia |
| Vicars – Chairmen of the Holy Synod (1948–1953) | ||||
| Metropolitan | Mihail of Dorostol | Dimitar Todorov Chavdarov | 8 November 1948 – 4 January 1949 | Sofia |
| Metropolitan | Paisius of Vratsa | Alexandar Raykov Ankov | 4 January 1949 – 3 January 1951 | Sofia |
| Metropolitan | Cyril of Plovdiv | Konstantin Markov Konstantinov | 3 January 1951 – 10 May 1953 | Sofia |
| Patriarchs of Bulgaria (1953–present) | ||||
| Patriarch title was recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople |
Cyril of Bulgaria | Konstantin Markov Konstantinov | 10 May 1953 – 7 March 1971 | Sofia |
| Patriarch | Maxim of Bulgaria | Marin Naydenov Minkov | 4 July 1971 – 6 November 2012 | Sofia |
| Patriarch | Neophyte of Bulgaria | Simeon Nikolov Dimitrov | 24 February 2013 – present | Sofia |
