Although there had already been some attempts to introduce Roman Catholicism in
Orthodox Bulgaria before, it was only in the 16th century that mission work met
with some success and that it became possible to establish a regular hierarchy.
(1)
(1) A first attempt to gain Bulgaria for the Latin Church toke place in 1204
and others followed in 1235 and 1337.
By the time the missionaries arrived in Bulgaria there already existed a
small Catholic community of Dalmatian traders and Saxon miners. The new
converts were for the most adepts of the Bogomile religion.
After the revolt of 1688 - in which the Catholics toke a leading part -
the church lost in importance and soon its hierarchy was reduced to the
two Dioceses of Nikopoli and Sofia.
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NIKOPOLI(S)
The Diocese of Nicopoli(s) was erected in the middle of the 17th century.
Bishops
(resident near Bucharest and Apostolic Administrators of Wallachia until 1883,
afterwards at Rusçuk/Rusé)
1847 - 1863 Angelo Parsi 1800 - 1863
1863 - 1870 Antonius Josephus Pluym 1808 -
1870 - 1883 Ignatio Paoli 1818 - 1883
1883 - 1893 Hippoli Agosto 1838 - 1893
1893 - 1895 vacant
1895 - 1913 Henry Doulcet 1857 - 1916
1913 - 1915 Leonard Baumbach
1915 - 1946 Jean Damien Theelen
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SOFIA AND PLOVDIV
The Diocese of Sofia was erected in the early 17th century. From 1758 onwards the
see was vacant and administered by Vicars Apostolic. This situation was formalized
by the creation, in 1867, of the Apostolic Vicariate of Sofia and Plovdiv, which
covered the territory of the former Diocese.
In 1892 the Diocese itself was restored as a titulat see, named Sardica. (2)
(2) Titular Bishops of Sardica
1892 - 1895 Bernardo Dal Vago 1822 - 1895
1895 Bonaventura Maria Soldatich 1827 - 1895
1896 - 1907 Paolo De Sanctis 1816 - 1907
1907 - 1912 Pietro Del Corona
1912 - 1914 vacant
1914 - 1919 Antonio Intreccialagli
1919 - 1921 Paul von Huyn (Pavel de Huyn) 1868 - 1946
1921 - 1925 Ernesto Filippi
1925 - 1958 Giuseppe Fietta 1883 - 1960
Vicars Apostolic (since 1867)
1867 - 1885 Francesco Domenico Reynaudi, Titular
Bishop of Aegae in ... 1808 - 1895
1885 - 1916 Roberto Menini, Titular Archbishop
of Gangra in Paphlagonia 1837 - 1916
1916 - 1941 Cletus Pejov, Titular Bishop of
Lyrba in Pamphilia I
1942 - 1960 Ivan Romanov, Titular Bishop of
Prisriana in Epiros Nova
In 1861 - in an attempt to escape Greek supremacy - some members of the Bulgarian
Orthodox Church opted for union with Rome and an Apostolic Vicariate for the Uniate
Bulgarians was established soon afterwards.
The union movement never had much success (especially not after the creation of
the Bulgarian Orthodox Exarchate) and was largely confined to communities outside
Bulgaria itself : the town of Constantinople, Macedonia and Thrace.
Consequently the hierarchy was restructured in 1883 :
- the Vicar Apostolic in Constantinople now became mainly responsable for the
relations with the Osmanli authorities.
- new Apostolic Vicariates were created for Macedonia and Thrace
Vicars Apostolic of the Uniate Bulgarians
(In Constantinople)
1861 Iosif Sokolski, Archbishop 1786 - ....
1861 - 1906 vacant
Apostolic Administrators during the vacancy
1862 - 1865 Petur Arabadjiski
1865 - 1876 Rafael Popov 1... - 1876
1876 - 1895 Nile Isvorov, returned
to the Orthodox faith
1895 - 1906 vacant
1906 - 1924 Mihail Minov, Titular Archbishop
of Theodosiopolis in ... 18.. - 1924
1924 - 1926 vacant
Vicars Apostolic of Macedonia
1883 - 1895 Lazarus Mladenov, Titular Bishop of
Satala in Armenia I 1854 - 1911
1895 - 1922 Epiphanos Scianov, Titular Bishop of
Livias in Palestina I 1849 - 1940
1922 - 1926 vacant
Vicars Apostolic of Thrace
1883 - 1921 Mihail Petkov, Titular Bishop
of Hebron in Palestina I 1850 - 1921
1921 - 1926 vacant
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SOFIA
During the Balkan Wars (1912 - 1913) and the troubles following the end of WWI
most Uniate Bulgarians in the Osmanli empire toke refuge in Bulgaria, the existing
jurisdictions actually ceased to function.
In 1926 they all were abolished and replaced by an Apostolic Exarchate with its
seat in Sofia and in charge of all Uniate Bulgarians.
Apostolic Exarch
1941 - 1971 Stefan Kirill Kurtev, Titular
Bishop of Briula in Asia I ,
Apostolic Administrator of the
Exarchate since 1926. 1891 -
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