Thе Bulgarian exarchate in Macedonia (1870 – 1913)

THE BULGARIAN EXARCHATE IN MACEDONIA (1870 – 1913) 

 Assoc. Prof. Milen Mihov, PhD (Abstract) 

The Bulgarian Exarchate was established in the nineteenth century as a result of mass movement national in character and ecclesiastical in form in which Bulgarians from Macedonia took most active part. It was the first national institution and was a kind of “state before state”. After the decisions of the Congress of Berlin in 1878, the Exarchate retained its importance for the Bulgarians in the Ottoman Empire. Under the leadership of Exarch Joseph I, a large-scale enlightening and spiritual activity was developed, which practically exercised the cultural autonomy of the Bulgarians in Macedonia and Eastern Thrace. The wide spread of Bulgarian education, language and culture in Macedonia was unthinkable without the active participation of the Macedonian Bulgarians. The Exarchate and IMARO had different character and historical genesis, but there was a functional and personal symbiosis between them.