Metropolitan Andrey (Petkov)
.jpg)
Metropolitan Andrey (Petkov) (1886-1972)
Andrey may be spelt Andrei, André, Andrew.
Petkov may be spelt Petkoff.
Early life of Stoyan Nikolov Petkov
On 31 December, 1886, Stoyan Nikolov Petkov was born in the Vrachesh village, in Botevgrad municipality in Bulgaria.
Stoyan Nikolov was raised an Orthodox Christian in his family, within the bosom of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
As he was growing up, however, Stoyan N Petkov took his comprehensive education in Targovishte, since his family had moved there.
Saint John of Rila Bulgarian Orthodox Temple, Tarkovishte
Higher education
In 1903, Stoyan entered the Sofia Theological Seminary of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, from which he graduated in 1909.
In 1911, Stoyan entered the Moscow Orthodox Theological Academy, and he continued his studies there until 1916.
Military service, 1912-1915
His years of study were somewhat interrupted when he served as a private in the army during the Balkan Wars (1912–1913).
In 1914, from the beginning of World War I, Stoyan served for a year as a volunteer medical orderly in the Russian army, and also as a secretary in the first detachment of the State Duma.
Stoyan was awarded the Saint George Medal, 4th degree, for bravery, and the Stanislav Medal for diligence.
Stoyan returned to the Moscow Theological Academy, from which he graduated in 1916, with the degree Candidate of Theology (Ph.D.), in the second category.
From 1916 until June, 1918, he served as a teacher in Saint Petersburg in the "Sign" courses, and in the Rosenkrantz Mint.
During this time, Stoyan Petkov was taken into the circle of the Russian imperial family. From this encounter, he travelled south and he participated in the Exaltation of the Cross Brotherhood in the Yampol village of Glukhov County of the Chernigov Province.
Return to Bulgaria, 1918
After the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, Stoyan Petkov returned to Bulgaria in 1918 after having escaped from the Civil War that ensued.
Again in his motherland, from 14 January, 1919, Stoyan worked as a secretary, and afterwards as inspector with the Department of Religions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs until 27 February, 1921.
He then worked as a teacher in the Sofia Theological Seminary (1921–1926). He also led Orthodox Bible courses in Sofia (mainly in the Saint Nicholas the Wonderworker Temple), and in other places in the country.
From 1925 to 1929 he served as head of the cultural and educational department of the Holy Synod.
In addition, in January, 1927, he was assigned to serve as head of the Christian Fraternities. He served in this responsibility as a layman until 1929, but he continued on in this responsibility also after his ordination.
Stoyan Petkov
Monastic tonsure, 1928
On 14 December, 1928, in the Cherepish Dormition Monastery, Metropolitan Pavel (Popkonstantinov) of Stara Zagora tonsured Stoyan Petkov to be a monk. He was given the name Andrey.
Dormition Monastery, Cherepish
Diaconal ordination, 1928
On 15 December, 1928, the Monk Andrey (Petkov) was ordained to the Holy Diaconate by Metropolitan Pavel (Popkonstantinov) of Stara Zagora.
Presbyteral ordination, 1928
On 16 December, 1928, the Hierodeacon Andrey (Petkov) was ordained to the Holy Priesthood by Metropolitan Pavel (Popkonstantinov) of Stara Zagora.
Presbyteral service
On 19 December, 1928, Hieromonk Andrey (Petkov) was elevated to the dignity of archimandrite. This took place in the Synodal Chapel of the Holy Tsar Boris.
Episcopal ordination, 1929
On 20 April, 1929, in the cathedral-memorial Temple of the Dormition of the Theotokos in Varna, Archimandrite Andrey (Petkov) was ordained to the Holy Episcopate.
Dormition Cathedral, Varna
Episcopal service
Bishop Andrey (Petkov) was assigned to serve as Bishop of Velichka, and also to be the Vicar-Bishop of the Metropolitan Simeon (Popov) of Varna and Preslav.
On 28-30 August, 1934, at the general assembly of the Christian Fraternities (which he led until then), Bishop Andrey was elected head of the newly-established Union of Student Orthodox Societies.
On 23 October, 1937, Metropolitan Simeon (Popov) of Varna reposed in the Lord, and the assignment of Bishop Andrey was changed after the election of the next metropolitan of Varna.
Bishop Andrey (Petkov) of Velichka
Transfer to North America, 1938
On 26 February, 1938, by Royal Decree no. 12, Bishop Andrey (Petkov) was appointed to serve as the head of the Bulgarian Eparchy of the USA, Canada and Australia. This decree was confirmed by the Holy Synod of Bishops. He began his service on 3 April, 1938. The see was in New York City, USA, and his title was Metropolitan of New York.
The relationship of the new bishop with the local Bulgarian communities did not develop, and in the fall of 1938 the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church (BOC) was forced to draw the attention of Bishop Andrey to the actions of some priests who were striving for independence.
Metropolitan Andrey was not able to be present in New York on a permanent basis, and when World War II began, he was in Bulgaria. The war was an obstacle to his return.
In February, 1939, at the initiative of church communities, but without the participation of Bishop Andrey, the first USA conference of representatives from Bulgarian Orthodox churches was convened, in which parishes of Detroit, Toronto, Indianapolis, Granite City and Steelton took part.
Temporary service in Istanbul during the war
On 8 September, 1942 (during World War II), the Bulgarian Bishop Clement (Glavinitsky), the Vicar-Bishop and Exarch in Istanbul, reposed in Christ. The Bulgarian Holy Synod sent Bishop Andrey (Petkov) to Istanbul to organise and supervise his funeral and interment. He had arrived in Bulgaria from the USA in July of the same year.
On 20 November, 1942, the Holy Synod instructed Bishop Andrey temporarily to manage the exarchate administration in Constantinople, while remaining the head of the North American Diocese.
Perhaps by ill-conceived actions and/or perhaps by some negative personal qualities, Bishop Andrey (Petrov) provoked discontent amongst the Istanbul Bulgarians.
On 29 July, 1944, the malcontents wrote a complaint to the Chairman of the Holy Synod, Metropolitan Neofit (Karaabov), and they asked him to recall Bishop Andrey to Bulgaria. The letter stated that Bishop Andrey, contrary to the advice of the consul not to visit the houses of the parishioners, visited many prominent Bulgarian families. This caused the internment of 10 heads of families in Asia Minor and their being placed there in a concentration camp until the end of the war. In addition, Bishop Andrey, who declared, “The diocese is me”, without reason dismissed some members of the parish government, contrary to the statute ; in November, 1943, he ordained the illiterate Kirill Ivanov to the Holy Diaconate ; he “forced” Priest K Belchev to resign and retire from the Monument-Temple of Saint Stephen.
It is true that, in response to a request from Metropolitan Neofit, in an acquittal letter dated 3 October, 1944, he rejected all accusations.
Negotiations to heal the Greco-Bulgarian Schism of 1872
Negotiations about the resolving and healing the schism of the Bulgarian Church, imposed in the 19th century (1872) by the Patriarch of Constantinople, were of paramount importance for the continued existence of the Bulgarian Exarchate in Istanbul. In 1945, Metropolitan Boris (Razumov) of Nevrokop and Metropolitan Sofroniy (Tchavdarov) of Veliko Tarnovo, and Bishop Andrey (Petkov) negotiated with the Ecumenical Patriarchate about lifting the schism.
The conditions for the removal of schism were : the ending of the Bulgarian Exarchate having dioceses outside the state territory of Bulgaria ; the recall of the ex-Exarch from Istanbul ; and the transfer of the Bulgarian parish communities in Turkey under the jurisdiction of the Constantinople Patriarchate.
At the beginning of the negotiations, a member of the Bulgarian delegation, Metropolitan Sofroniy (Tchavdarov) noted 2 significant facts : that on 21 January, 1945, the Bulgarian Synod decided to transfer the diocese from Constantinople to Sofia ; and that all 3 bishops included in the delegation of the Bulgarian Church (Metropolitan Boris (Razumov), Bishop Sofroniy (Tchavdarov) and Bishop Andrey (Petkov)) rejected the request of the local Bulgarians to perform a Divine Liturgy in the Temple-monument of Saint Stephen until the problem of schism was resolved.
On 22 February, 1945, the representatives of both Churches signed a Tomos to abolish the schism and grant autocephaly to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. The only matter that remained unresolved during the negotiations was the problem of the status of the head of the exarchate in Istanbul and the status of the Bulgarian communities in Turkey. The additional protocol to the Tomos indicated that this issue should be resolved in the spirit of the conditions developed in Jerusalem in 1934, according to which, after the lifting of the schism, the Bulgarian communities in Turkey came under the jurisdiction of the Constantinople Patriarchate and received autonomous internal self-government with the right to elect priests who were approved by the Patriarch of Constantinople. Similar conditions were supposed to be introduced for the Constantinopolitan parishes in Bulgaria.
On 4 March, 1945, a joint service of Bulgarian and Constantinopolitan (Roman) bishops was held in the Bulgarian Temple of Saint Stephen in Istanbul.
On 12 April, 1945, Bishop Andrey (Petkov) wrote to the Exarch Stefan (Shokov) that, under the terms of the restoration of canonical relations of the Bulgarian and Constantinopolitan Churches, the ex-Vicariate deputations should be closed ; the bishop who ruled them should leave Istanbul ; and the Bulgarian church communities in Turkey will be re-arranged and cared for under new conditions. Explaining his solution to the problem, Bishop Andrey referred to the Russian communities that belong to the “Constantinople Russian Church District” and thus are independent of the Greek parishes in whose territory they are located. The bishop proposed to unite the Bulgarian parishes of Turkey within the framework of the newly-formed Bulgarian Exarchal Namestnik (viceroy) in Constantinople and to appoint another priest with high moral qualities to Istanbul in order to defend the material, economic and legal existence of the Bulgarian parishes “from possible harassment”.
On 27 July, 1945, the Bulgarian Ambassador in Ankara wrote a report about the dangerous situation for the Bulgarian communities in Turkey to the Ministry of Foreign and Religious Affairs. The ambassador proposed to put before the Synod the question of a new priest and the appointment of a Bishop-in-Charge in the place of Bishop Andrey, who canonically could not stay long in Istanbul (whom the Ecumenical Patriarchate only temporarily tolerated), and that Bishop Andrey be sent back to America.
Return to the USA, 1945
In accordance with the decree of the Exarch Stefan, Vladyka Andrey left for the USA on 6 December, 1945. After the departure of Bishop Andrey, the interim administration of the leadership of the exarchate was assigned to the Archpriest Iokim Mustrev.
On 26 July, 1947, in Buffalo, New York, the Diocesan Electoral Council, which included representatives of the clergy and laity, elected Bishop Andrey (Petkov) of Velich to become the Metropolitan of America.
Because of one of the conditions of the Tomos of Reconciliation with Constantinople, the administration of parishes in North America was a potential source of difficulties. However, the main difficulties were presented by the now socialist government (which came to power in 1946). The government in Bulgaria did not like the choice and under pressure from Georgi Dimitrov himself (the communist leader of the republic), the Holy Synod did not recognise the election. Nevertheless, the Synod maintained contacts with the diocese and with Bishop Andrey.
Care for Bulgarian refugees
In 1949, Vladyka Andrey visited Italy twice : in February, he was accompanied by Dr. G M Dimitrov ; in November, he travelled together with a Roman Catholic priest, Joseph Gagov. In his capacity as chairman of the Committee for Assistance to Bulgarian Emigrants, he visited Ambassador James C Dunn, the American Ambassador to Italy, in order to discuss whether it would be possible that the USA accept more Bulgarian emigrants
Attempts to enter the North American "Metropolia"
In the context of this difficult situation, during the 1950s and 1960s, Metropolitan Andrey (Petkov) made unsuccessful attempts to unite to the “Metropolia” this diocese (eparchy), which had by then become separated from the Church of Bulgaria by political difficulties (the arrival of communism in 1946).
Then, in 1963, Metropolitan Andrey petitioned the Holy Synod of the Church of Bulgaria for his return to inclusion in the Bulgarian Episcopate, and he requested that he be able to continue to lead the diocese in North America. His request was granted, and he and the diocese returned to communion with the Bulgarian Church. Bishop Andrey (Petkov) returned to Bulgaria for the first time in 1963 for his canonical election as Metropolitan of the American and Australian diocese.
_1.png)
Division, 1963
However, when Metropolitan Andrey (Petkov) and his diocese were accepted back into the Church of Bulgaria, Archimandrite Kyrill (Yonchev) and a group with him, being unwilling to be associated directly with the Bulgarian communist government, separated from Metropolitan Andrey. They joined the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia (ROCOR) as the Bulgarian Diocese in Exile.
Bishop Kyrill (Yonchev) established his see at Toledo, Ohio.
Metropolitan Andrey (Petkov) established his see in New York City, New York.
Repose, 1972
On 9 August, 1972, Metropolitan Andrey (Petkov) fell asleep in the Lord in New York.
The Funeral Services for the Burial of a Hierarch were served in New York.
After the funeral services, his body was transported to Bulgaria, where it was interred in the Saint John of Rila Temple in Targovishte, Bulgaria, which was reconstructed through his donations during the early 1970s.
Saint John of Rila Temple, Targovishte, Bulgaria
— Bishop of Velichka 1929-1938. Preceded by : ____. Succeeded by : ____.
— Vicar-Bishop of the Metropolitan of Varna and Preslav.
— Metropolitan of New York 1938-1972. Preceded by : ____. Succeeded by : Metropolitan Joseph (Bosakov).
Reflections
Awards
• The Saint George Medal, 4th degree, for bravery
• The Stanislav Medal for diligence.
Cover of a book about Metropolitan Andrey (Petkov)
References
Diocese of the USA, Canada and Australia web-site (English)
Russian Wikipedia biography (in Russian)
Additional information :
Dimitrov, Ivan Z, ‘Bulgarian Christianity’ in “The Blackwell Companion to Eastern Orthodoxy”, ed. Parry, Ken (Oxford : John Wiley & Sons, 2007). ISBN 10 : 0631234233 ; ISBN 13 : 9780631234234
Metodiev, Momchil, "Metropolitan Andrew of New York : biography, memoirs, diaries" (Riva, 2016). ISBN : 978954320561
Prokurat, Michael ; Golitzin, Alexander & Petersen, Michael, eds., “The A to Z of the Orthodox Church” (Lanham, MD : Scarecrow Press, 2010), pp. 67-68. ISBN : 978-0-8108-7602-6,
Tarasar, Constance J, ed., "Orthodox America 1794-1976 : Development of The Orthodox Church in America" (Syosset, NY : The Orthodox Church in America Department of History and Archives, 1975). ASIN : B000ZLZAUE.
Bulgarian Orthodox Patriarchate web-site
Wikipedia article about the Bulgarian Patriarchal diocese
Russian Wikipedia article about the Patriarchal Bulgarian diocese
List of Bulgarian Orthodox Monasteries
History of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church
Sofia Theological Seminary, Sofia, Bulgaria
Cathedral Church of Saint Alexander Nevsky in Sofia, Bulgaria
Saints Kyril and Methodios Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Diocesan Cathedral in New York, New York
Saint Tsar Boris I Equal of the Apostles, Prince and Baptizer of Bulgaria
Patriarch Athenagoras (Spyrou)
Patriarch Maximux V (Vaportzis)
Metropolitan Neophyte (Karaabov)
Metropolitan Michael (Tchavdarov)
Exarch Stefan I (Shokov) and Metropolitan of Sofia
Please send your suggestions, additions, corrections or contributions to this address :
info@orthodoxcanada.ca