Илия Цанов и борбата за митрополитския престол в София през 1872 г.
Iliya Tsanov and the Struggle for the Bishop Throne in Sofia in 1872

Summary/Abstract: Extremely interesting, intriguing, exciting and eventful are Iliya Tsanov’s career and life path. He successively held a number of posts, like a clerk in the local Ottoman administration in Vidin, chairman of the Trade Court in Sofia, delegate of the Bulgarian National Parliament, minister of the foreign affairs in the Bulgarian government and last but not least, he was a defender of Botev’s chetniks (soldiers) in the Turkish Court. Iliya Tsanov was born in Vidin, but his life was strongly and deeply connected with Sofia, where he settled down in 1868. There Tsanov built up a reputation as an influential person and became a part of Sofia elite. The high status in the society allowed him to play a major role in the dispute around the Bishop throne in Sofia in 1872. The Bishop issue sharply polarized the opinions among the notables in the city and resumed the old conflicts in the Bulgarian community. Tsanov was among the few Bulgarians, who supported the nomination of Dorotey Sofiyski. The best illustration of Tsanov’s determination and actions are his letters to Dorotey, which were kept in the personal fund of the cleric. Those documents are the basis of the current article.

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