Paisius of Hilendar

He is considered the forefather of the Bulgarian National Revival. Paisius was born in the Samokov eparchy. There is academic dispute about the exact place of his birth, although the prevailing consensus points to the town of Bansko. He established himself in the Hilandar Monastery in 1745, where he was later a hieromonk and deputy abbot. Collecting materials for two years through hard work and even visiting the Habsburg monarchy, he finished his Istoriya Slavyanobolgarskaya in 1762 in the Zograf Monastery. The book was the first attempt to write a complete history of Bulgaria and attempted to awaken and strengthen Bulgarian national consciousness. The most famous part of the whole book is the paragraph: Oh, you unwise moron! Why are you ashamed to call yourself a Bulgarian and why don't you read and speak in your native language? Weren't Bulgarians powerful and glorious once? Didn't they take taxes from strong Romans and wise Greeks? Out of all the Slavic nations they were the bravest one. Our rulers were the first ones to call themselves emperors, the first ones to have patriarchs, the first ones to baptise their people. […] Why are you ashamed of your great history and your great language and why do you leave it to turn yourselves into Greeks? Why do you think they are any better than you? Well, here you're right because did you see a Greek leave his country and ancestry like you do? This more or less signifies the purpose of the author who speaks about the danger of Bulgarians falling victim to the Hellenization policies of the mainly Greek Orthodox clergy of the Rum Millet. The book's first manual copy was done by Sophronius of Vratsa in 1765. Structurally, Istoriya Slavyanobolgarskaya consists of two introductions, several chapters that discuss various historic events, a chapter about the "Slavic teachers", the disciples of Cyril and Methodius, a chapter about the Bulgarian saints, and an epilogue. He is thought to have died on the way to Mount Athos near Ampelino (modern-day Asenovgrad). • Illustration — First page of a manuscript of Istoriya slavyanobulgarska

• Honorific Prefix — Saint • Name — Paisiy of Hilendar Свети Паисий Хилендарски Sveti Paisiy Hilendarski • Imagesize — 200px • Titles — Venerable • Born — c. 1722 • Birthplace — Bansko (?), Samokov eparchy (diocese), Ottoman Empire (now Bulgaria) • Died — c. 1773 • Place of death — Stanimaka (now Asenovgrad), Ottoman Empire (now Bulgaria) • Feast Day — 19 June • Venerated In — Eastern Orthodox Church • Canonized Date — 26 June 1962 • Canonized By — the Bulgarian Orthodox Church • Patronage — Bulgaria