LES COMMUNAUTÉS BULGARES DE MACÉDOINE ET LEURS RAPPORTS AVEC L’ÉGLISE CATHOLIQUE PENDANT LES ANNÉES 1873-1878
Études balkaniques (Sofia) 2023, N 4
Eleonora NAXIDOU
Democritus University of Thrace
Greece
The Bulgarian Communities in Macedonia and Their Relations with the Catholic Church (1873- 1878)
Abstract: This article aims to contribute to the issue of the relations between the Orthodox populations of the Balkans and the Catholic Church during the Ottoman period focusing on the Bulgarians and their contacts with the Pope in the second half of the 19th century. More specifically two intertwined topics are discussed: on the one hand the attempts of the Bulgarians in Macedonia to establish a Uniate Church in the 1870’s; on the other how this incident was perceived and commented by the Greek Orthodox press of Constantinople. In this way significant conclusions are drawn with regard to the motives and aspirations of this Macedonian Bulgarian ecclesiastic separatist movement as well as the differing interpretations that the Greek newspapers of the Ottoman capital provided to this development.
Keywords: Bulgarian Exarchate, Bulgarian Uniate Church, 19th century, Petko Slaveikov, Greek Orthodox Press of Constantinople