Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Honouring the memory of Exarch Joseph – the first exarch in post-liberation Bulgaria

Monument to Exarch Joseph in front of the exarchic house
Photo: Miroslav Vassilev

It is 180 years today since the birth of Exarch Joseph, the first Bulgarian exarch in post-liberation Bulgaria, who ruled the Bulgarian Orthodox church in the course of 38 years.

Exarch Joseph was born on 5 May, 1840 in the town of Kalofer under the secular name of Lazar Yovchev. He studied in Constantinople and later graduated literature and law from the Sorbonne. When he became a monk in 1872 he took the name Joseph. In 1877, when the Russo-Turkish war broke out, he was elected Bulgarian exarch. 

Exarch Joseph I opened a Bulgarian theological seminary in Constantinople, helped build churches, assisted the training of priests, the opening of schools, sending gifted young people to study abroad. In 1902 he was elected honorary member of the Bulgarian Learned Society, later renamed Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. 



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Prime Minister demands new regulations of amusement activities following tragic parasailing accident in Nessebar resort

Days after the parasailing accident in Bulgaria's Black Sea resort of Nessebar, in which an eight-year-old child died, Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov tasked ministers and agencies with making proposals for new regulatory framework of entertainment and..

published on 8/20/25 1:33 PM

Twice as many drug laboratories and cultivation areas discovered by authorities

Nearly twice as many laboratories and cultivation areas for the production and cultivation of narcotic substances were discovered within a month, BGNES reports. In July this year their number was 40, while in the previous month – 22...

published on 8/20/25 12:01 PM

Mass fish die-off in trout farms across Bulgaria

High temperatures and low water levels have led to a mass fish die-off in trout farms, BNT reports. According to the Association of Fish Products Producers in Bulgaria, the problem affects farms across the country, as in some places..

published on 8/20/25 10:36 AM