'Philetism' in the Balkans: the formation of the Bulgarian exarchate (1830-1878)

Official URL: http://192.168.1.20/record=b1295919 (Table of Contents)

The purpose of this study is to analyze the formation process of the Bulgarian Exarchate. The method of presentation in this work is topical-chronological. First chapter deals with different aspects of Ottoman modernization (transformation/formalization process of millet system, rise of secularist tendencies, and attempt to create an Ottoman nation by Tanzimat cadres) starting from the 19th century. Following chapter continues with structural and cultural changes beginning from the mid-18th century in the Bulgarian lands and role of Catholic and Protestant missionaries within these changes in the 19th century. The third chapter investigates the phases of the foundation of the Bulgarian Exarchate between the 1830s and 1872. Our argument is that establishment of the Bulgarian Exarchate is the most crucial event in the fragmentation of the Orthodox realm in the Balkans realized in the 19th century due to the spread of ideas of Enlightenment and Romanticism. Ethnic violence and secular parochialism posed the most serious threat against ecumenic character of Orthodoxy. Even though the Ecumenical Patriarchate had a reserve against nationalist ideas, 'official' churches of the nation-states became the instruments of these new political structures. The research of problem under study is based on archival collections and secondary sources. These archival materials are the Ottoman Archives of the Prime Ministry, Külliyat-ı Kavanin documents in the Türk Tarih Kurumu (Turkish Historical Association), and Tasnif-i Cevdet/Adliye (Classification of Teacher Cevdet for Judiciary). The existing historiography on the Exarchate is very old and very limited, though many researches were conducted about the Ottoman millet system, reforms of the 19th century, and missionary movements in the Bulgarian lands.