Bulgaria and the Bulgarian Orthodox Church
In looking at the history of Europe, it is interesting to explore how the separate countries and national groups responded to very similar events. Some countries developed considerable religious tolerance. Others were anti Semitic in the extreme. In the case of Bulgaria, it responded to the Ottoman occupation of the country in a way substantially different from the Albanians. While most Albanians in the 20th century remain Islamic, most Bulgarians remain members of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. While the Orthodox Church failed to hold the people together in Albania, it succeeded in Bulgaria.
According to Curtis (1993), Bulgaria's history has been largely determined by its geographical location between Asia and Europe. It has been at the juncture of many empires and alliances in conflict with each other and has been a minor player in most of these larger affairs.
The history of Bulgaria is the history of many of its neighboring countries. Early on, it was conquered by troops from Greece and Rome, which had a considerable impact on the area culturally. However, it is the Bulgars and the Slavs who formed the bulk of the population of Bulgaria and influenced its cultural development. The Bulgars are a tribe who entered the region in the seventh century from west of the Ural mountains, joining the Slavs who had arrived there in the sixth century. Both groups influenced each other, and adopted Christianity in the ninth century (Anastasoff, 1977).
In this early period, Bulgarians were allied with the Orthodox Church, rather than with the church in Rome, although politically they were rivals. It is this early period that represents the apex of power and influence for Bulgaria. There were two separate Bulgarian empires during this time, one developing during the ninth century and the other during the 13th century. The two empires had wide trade relationships and a strong mi...