Otets Paisiy (Father Paisius) - The Patron of 85 SOU
Saint Paisius of Hilendar
or Paisiy Hilendarski (1722–1773) was a Bulgarian
clergyman and a key Bulgarian National Revival figure. He is most
famous for being the author of Istoriya Slavyanobolgarskaya. Most
Bulgarians think of him as the forefather of the Bulgarian National
Revival.
Paisius was born in the Samokov eparchy of
the time, probably in the town of Bansko. He established himself in
the Hilandar monastery on Mount Athos in 1745, where he was later a
hieromonk and deputy-abbot. Collecting materials for two years
through hard work and even visiting the lands of the Germans, 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 awake and strengthen Bulgarian
national consciousnesses.
The most famous part of the whole book is
the very first sentence: "Why
are you ashamed to call yourself Bulgarian?"
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 clergy. 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. As Paisius toured Bulgaria as a mendicant friar, he brought his work, which was copied and spread among the Bulgarians. He is thought to have died on the way to Mount Athos near Ampelino (modern-day Asenovgrad).
85 SOU Otets Paisiy today
History of 85 SOU