If you have ever visited our office, you know it is located in the centre of Sofia, on the quiet street of Peter Parchevich.
On the occasion of the Day of the National Enlighteners, we decided to share with you who the attorney and public figure Peter Parchevich is and what his contribution to the Bulgarian Revival and history is!
Education, Diplomatic Missions, the Beginning of the Bulgarian Revival
Peter Parchevich was born in Chiprovtsi in 1612, in the old gentle family of Knezevichi-Parchevichi. At the age of 11, he was sent to study in Loreto, Italy.
Later, he continued his education in Rome, where he completed his higher education, becoming the first Bulgarian doctor of civil (Roman) and Catholic law in 1637.
He spoke excellent Greek, Latin, Italian, Vlach, and Armenian.
After returning to Bulgaria in 1643, Parchevich became a priest, and a year later he became secretary and assistant to the Archbishop of Marzioanopolis in the town of Marzio. He was also a priest, and a secretary to the Archbishop of the Archbishopric of Bakau, Wallachia.
Due to his post, he toured the lands from present-day Moldova to northeastern Bulgaria and conducted many diplomatic missions seeking support for the liberation of the Christian peoples in the Ottoman Empire
Peter Parchevich was appointed Archbishop of Marcianopolis by Pope Alexander VII in 1656. Shortly after, he participated in organizing a rebellion with the support of Wallachia, Moldova, and the Habsburg Monarchy, which proved unsuccessful.
During his missions, Peter Parchevich’s health deteriorated, and as a result of a serious illness, he was removed from his archbishopric post in 1661. He took a minor church service in Olomouc (present-day Czech Republic).
In 1668, the Austrian Emperor Leopold I bestowed upon Peter Parchevich the title of Baron. In the same year, he became the Apostolic Vicar of Moldova and remained there until 1673 when he embarked on a new mission aiming for a crusade against the Ottoman Empire. Parchevich spared no effort and visited Poland, Vienna, Venice, and Rome during this mission.
His ideas marked the beginning of the Bulgarian national revival, but unfortunately, his diplomatic attempts remained unsuccessful.
Nevertheless, they influenced the national liberation spirit of the Bulgarian people.
Peter Parchevich passed away on July 23, 1674, in Rome. Thus, his dream to see Bulgaria liberated came to an end.
He was buried in the Basilica of Sant’Andrea delle Fratte in front of the chapel of St. Francis.
After his death, in 1688, a rebellion of the Bulgarian Catholics broke out in his hometown of Chiprovtsi, and its suppression forced the residents to migrate throughout Europe, with the majority settling in the Banat region. Today, various schools, community centres, and streets in most major cities are named after Peter Parchevich, and our office is located at 15 Peter Parchevich Street in Sofia.