Sofronii of Vratsa

Sofronii of Vratsa 

(religious name of Stoiko Vladislavov). Born 1739, in the city of Kotel; died Sept. 22 or 23, 1813, in Bucharest. Leader of the Bulgarian national revival and the enlightenment of the Bulgarian people.

Sofronii was a student and follower of Paisii of Hilendar. He became a priest in 1762 and taught in Kotel for many years. Persecution by Turkish authorities and the Greek archbishop forced him to move to Vratsa in 1792. Sofronii became bishop of Vratsa in 1794. Escaping from persecution by the Kurdzhali, he fled to Bucharest in 1803. During the Russo-Turkish War of 1806–12 he called on the Bulgarians to help the Russians.

Sofronii fought against the dominance of the Greek clergy and for the enlightenment of the Bulgarian people. He also played a prominent role in the development of the Bulgarian literary language. His Kyriakodromion is the first printed book of modern Bulgarian literature.

WORKS

izbrani tvoreniia. Sofia, 1946.

REFERENCES

Derzhavin, N. S. “Sofronii Vrachanskii: Ego zhizn’ i literaturnaia deiatel’nost.” In his Sbornik statei i issledovanii v oblasti slavian-skoifilologii. Moscow-Leningrad, 1941. Pages 125–69.
Kiselkov, V. Sofronii Vrachanski. Sofia, 1963.