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Is this church a Slavic or Greek tradition? Do we have any Bulgarian Greek Catholic parishes in the US? Thanks,Paul

The title for the Exarch of the Bulgarian Byzantine Catholics is: Apostolic Exarch for Catholics of the Byzantine-Slav Rite in Bulgaria.

I think there are no Bulgarian Byzantine Catholic parishes in the U.S.

BTW, the combined Catholic Episcopal Conference in Bulgaria is currently headed by the Exarch of the Byzantine-Slavs. The 2 Latin ordinaries are members.

Amado

My memory might be wrong, but weren't the Bulgarian Catholics descendants of German immigrants who were farmers along the Danube River?

-- John

There are a couple of "mission stations" for the Bulgarian Orthodox-Catholics [Bulgarians do not care to be called either "Byzantine" or "Greek" - and, by the way, Bulgarians are not actually Slavs] in the USA which their priest in Rome used to come and visit once a year or so - he may still do so. I've never met him myself.

Fr. Serge

Father,

You mean the modern Bulgarians do not have any Slavic blood? I thought they had a little due to assimilation with the Slavs they encountered over the 500-800 years.?

Ung

I think Paul's query was: under what Church ritual patrimony does the Bulgarian (Byzantine) Catholic Church fall?

It's beside the point whether the Bulgarians are ethnically Slavs (which they are not)!

Amado

(Just a side bar question for clarification)
Do they not use a modern recension of Church Slavonic, as heirs to the Cyrllo-Methodian missions of the 9th century?

Ung

It is not "beside the point" to the Bulgarians. To the Bulgarian people, it is a rather basic issue.

The original Bulgars were a Turkish tribe that came out of Central Asia. After Khan Asperuch led them to the Balkan Penninsula, the Bulgars intermarried with and were absorbed by the native Slavic people; and they are now Slavs. To say that they aren't is like saying that the Russians are not Slavic because the original Varangians were Scandinavians. And, yes, both Russian and Bulgarians have absorbed bloodlines from other ethnic groups who came to visit for a while . . . such as the Mongols and the Tatars in Russia and such as the Greeks and the Ottomans in Bulgaria . . . but the basic ethnicity of each people remains.

-- John

I think you missed my point:

You do not have to be Russian to be an Orthodox; you do not have to be Slav or Greek to be a Byzantine!

Thus, the Bulgarians can be Orthodox (majority), or Latin Rite Catholics, or "Byzantine-Slav Rite" Catholics!

Amado

Yes, you are right. The Roman Catholics in Bulgaria are the descendents of German settlers. A lot of them left during/after WW2. There are still a few around.
The Eastern Rite Catholics in Bulgaria are ythe descendents of converts from the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.

My points (2) are simple:

a) within reason, people are entitled to call themselves what they like. Since Bulgarians do not like to be called either Byzantines or Greeks, their preference deserves to be respected.

b) English can easily distinguish between citizenship and ethnic affiliation. The majority of Hungarian Greek-Catholics are undeniably Hungarians, even most of them are not Magyars.

Fr. Serge

Hello

Not all the Bulgarian Roman Catholics are descendants of German settlers (who were actually Saxons as far as I know, and not exactly German).

Banat Bulgarians (ethnic Bulgarians in Romania and Serbia) are Roman Catholics and not Orthodox. Some (also in Bulgaria) are known as "Pavlikiani".

They're descendants of Paulicians (members of a Gnostic sect) and Bogomils (a form of primitive eastern protestantism) who were converted to Catholicism by Latin monks. Ethnically they are related to other groups who are now Slavic Muslims.

Yes, individual people of the same ethnicity can belong to different religions.

But, you failed to specify that. Instead, in your earlier post, you wrote:


Your statement is very wrong, sir, in two important respects.

First, the Bulgarian people are a Slavic people. I addressed that in earlier post, and I refer you to it.

Second, the Bulgarians' religion *does* matter. As so many people here at this forum can attest from their own ethnic histories, the question of religion matters a lot when a religion has become a significant part of a people's identity and history. Of course, individual people are free to choose their own personal religion. And, Bulgaria has plenty of religious minorities: Muslims mostly, a few Catholics, the Gypsies, and (in the past) the Bogomils. Nevertheless, Orthodoxy has been the religion of the majority of the Bulgarian people for over a thousand years. Also, Orthodoxy has been one of the defining characteristics of the Bulgarian people --as a people-- also for over a thousand years.

The original post was about Bulgarian Catholics. Yes, some Bulgarians have converted to it or married into over the years or centuries. (And many suffered persecution and martyrdom under the Communists, Eternal Memory!) But, if memory serves me correctly, the Bulgarian Catholic Church began as descendants of German Catholic immigrants.

And, yes, the vast majority of the Bulgarian people are Orthodox.
http://www.nationmaster.com/country/bu-bulgaria/rel-religion

For a history of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church:
http://bulch.tripod.com/boc/historyen.htm

For the Bulgarian Catholic Church
http://www.catholic-bg.org/eng/

For another essay about the Bulgarian Catholic Church:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman_Catholicism_in_Bulgaria

For a history of Bulgaria:
http://www.bulgaria-embassy.org/History_of_Bulgaria.htm


-- John

True enough, and I thank you for the correction.

-- John

To return momentarily to Paul's query -

Paul,

The Bulgarians, however, they choose to style themselves, worship according to the Nikonian Usage of the Great Russian Rescension - so, that would boil down to "Byzantine Slav" in the common parlance.

And where is AntonI, our resident Bulgarian?

Father Serge,

Any notion as to where the Bulgarian mission stations are located?

Many years,

Neil