Coronation of the Bulgarian monarch

The Bulgarian monarchs used the titles kanasubigi, khan, knyaz and tsar (emperor). When acceding to the throne in the First and Second Bulgarian Empire the occasion was marked with a coronation, conducted by the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. During the Third Bulgarian State accession was marked by an oath on the constitution.

Prince Boris I baptized in Pliska

First Bulgarian Empire

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Tsar Simeon I coronation by Patriarch Nicholas I Mystikos

Eastern Orthodox Christianity entered Bulgaria during the reign of Prince Boris I. He converted to Orthodoxy in 864. His godfather was Emperor Michael III and Boris accepted the name Michael as his Christian name. His title was changed from the pagan Kanas to the Christian Knyas.

Prince Simeon I was the first Bulgarian ruler to be crowned in the Christian Faith. Halfway through his reign, Simeon assumed the title of Tsar (Emperor) of Bulgarians and the Romans.,[1] having prior to that been styled Knyaz.[2] He was recognised and crowned by Patriarch Nicholas I Mystikos in 913 as Emperor of the Bulgarians by Patriarch Nicholas in the Blachernae Palace[3][4] outside the city walls of Constantinople.

Second Bulgarian Empire

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Church of St Demetrius of Thessaloniki used for coronations

The rulers of the Second Bulgarian Empire were crowned in Tarnovo.

Third Bulgarian Tsardom

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Tsar Ferdinand I after declaring Bulgaria's Independence

The Bulgarian rulers of the Third Bulgarian Tsardom were not crowned.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Цѣсарь Блъгарѡмъ". Zlatarski, Istorija na Pǎrvoto bǎlgarsko carstvo, p. 367.
  2. ^ Zlatarski, Istorija na Pǎrvoto bǎlgarsko carstvo, p. 280.
  3. ^ Fine, The Early Medieval Balkans, pp. 144–148.
  4. ^ Ostrogorsky, George (1935). "Avtokrator i samodržac". Glas Srpske Kraljevske Akademije (in Serbian) (CLXIV): 95–187.