page_title: Bulgarian Orthodox Church
section_title: Canonical status and organization
hierarchical_section_title: Bulgarian Orthodox Church / Canonical status and organization
caption_attribution_description: English: Eparchy of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church Български: Епархии на Българската православна църква Русский: Епархии Болгарской православной церкви Српски / srpski: Епархије Бугарске православне цркве.
context_page_description: The Bulgarian Orthodox Church, legally the Patriarchate of Bulgaria, is an autocephalous Orthodox Church. It is the oldest Slavic Orthodox Church, with some 6 million members in Bulgaria and between 1.5 and 2 million members in a number of European countries, the Americas, Australia, New Zealand and Asia. It was recognized as autocephalous in 1945 by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
context_section_description: The Bulgarian Orthodox Church considers itself an inseparable member of the one, holy, synodal and apostolic church and is organized as a self-governing body under the name of Patriarchate. It is divided into thirteen dioceses within the boundaries of the Republic of Bulgaria and has jurisdiction over additional two dioceses for Bulgarians in Western and Central Europe, and the Americas, Canada and Australia. The dioceses of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church are divided into 58 church counties, which, in turn, are subdivided into some 2,600 parishes.
  The supreme clerical, judicial and administrative power for the whole domain of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church is exercised by the Holy Synod, which includes the Patriarch and the diocesan prelates, who are called metropolitans. Church life in the parishes is guided by the parish priests, numbering some 1,500.
  Eparchies in Bulgaria: (with Bulgarian names in brackets)
  Eparchy of Vidin (Видинска епархия)
  Eparchy of Vratsa (Врачанска епархия)
  Eparchy of Lovech (Ловешка епархия)
  Eparchy of Veliko Tarnovo (Търновска епархия)
  Eparchy of Dorostol (Доростолска епархия) (seat in Silistra)
  Eparchy of Varna and Veliki Preslav (Варненскa и Bеликопреславска епархия) (seat in Varna)
  Eparchy of Sliven (Сливенска епархия)
  Eparchy of Stara Zagora (Старозагорска епархия)
  Eparchy of Plovdiv (Пловдивска епархия)
  Eparchy of Sofia (Софийска епархия)
  Eparchy of Nevrokop (Неврокопска епархия) (seat in Blagoevgrad)
  Eparchy of Pleven (Плевенска епархия)
  Eparchy of Ruse (Русенска епархия)
  Eparchies abroad:
  Eparchy of Central and Western Europe (with seat in Berlin);
  Eparchy of USA, Canada and Australia (with seat in New York City)
  The Bulgarian Orthodox Church also has some 120 monasteries in Bulgaria, with about 2,000 monks and nearly as many nuns.
caption: Eparchies of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Bulgaria
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