Bulgarian Orthodox Church
| Patriarchate of Bulgaria | |
|---|---|
| Българска патриаршия | |
| Type | Eastern Orthodox |
| Orientation | Eastern Christianity |
| Scripture | Septuagint, New Testament |
| Theology | Eastern Orthodox theology |
| Primate | Daniil |
| Bishops | 15 |
| Priests | 2,000 |
| Parishes | 2,600 |
| Monasteries | 120 |
| Language | Bulgarian and Old Church Slavonic (Old Bulgarian) |
| Headquarters | Saint Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, Sofia, Bulgaria |
| Territory | Bulgaria |
| Possessions | United States, Canada, Australia, European Union, Argentina, Russia, Greece, Turkey |
| Founder | Boris I of Bulgaria (original) Anthim I (as Bulgarian Exarchate) Stefan I of Bulgaria (modern incarnation) |
| Independence | 870–1018 1185–1393 1018–1767 1870–present |
| Recognition | 870 (Autonomy) 927 (Patriarchate) 1235 (Patriarchate) 1945 (Autocephaly) 1953 (Patriarchate) |
| Separations | Old Calendar Bulgarian Orthodox Church (late 1980s) Bulgarian Orthodox Church – Alternative synod (1996-2013) |
| Members | 7–8 million |
| Official website | Bulgarian Orthodox Church |
| Part of a series on the |
| Eastern Orthodox Church |
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| Overview |
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church (Bulgarian: Българска православна църква, romanized: Bûlgarska pravoslavna cûrkva), legally the Patriarchate of Bulgaria (Bulgarian: Българска патриаршия, romanized: Bûlgarska patriarshiya), is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox jurisdiction based in Bulgaria. It is the first medieval recognised patriarchate outside the Pentarchy and the oldest Slavic Orthodox church, with some 6 million members in Bulgaria and between 1.5 and 2 million members in a number of other European countries, Asia, the Americas, Australia, and New Zealand. It was recognized as autocephalous in 1945 by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.