Saint John XXIII of Sofia (Bulgarian Eparchy) [Catholic-Hierarchy]

---

Bishop(s) Petko Valov, Bishop Christo Proykov, Bishop Emeritus

General Information Type of Jurisdiction: Eparchy Elevated: 11 October 2019 Depends on: Dicastery for the Eastern Churches Bulgarian Catholic Church of the Byzantine Tradition Country: Bulgaria Official Web Site: http://www.kae-bg.org/ Mailing Address: ul. Liulin Planina 5, 1606 Sofia, Bulgaria Telephone: (02)953.04.06

Historical Details

• Apostolic Exarchate of Sofia (Bulgarian)
  • Latin Name: Sophiae
  • Erected: 1926
  • Country: Bulgaria

---

Past and Present Ordinaries

• Kiril Stefan (Nikola) Kurtev † (31 Jul 1926 Appointed - 30 May 1941 Resigned)
• Ivan Dimitrov Garufalov, C. R. † (6 Jul 1942 Appointed - 7 Aug 1951 Died)
• Kiril Stefan (Nikola) Kurtev † (27 Apr 1951 Appointed - 9 Mar 1971 Died)
• Metodi Dimitrov Stratiev, A.A. † (9 Mar 1971 Succeeded - 5 Sep 1995 Retired)
• Christo Proykov (5 Sep 1995 Succeeded - 8 Apr 2024 Retired)
• Petko Valov (8 Apr 2024 Appointed - )

---

Statistics

Year	Catholics	Total Population	Percent Catholic	Diocesan Priests	Religious Priests	Total Priests	Catholics Per Priest	Permanent Deacons	Male Religious	Female Religious	Parishes	Source
Apostolic Exarchate of Sofia (Bulgarian)
1969		8,500,000	.0%	8		8	0			21	20	ap1981
1988	15,000			12	8	20	750		16	40	18	ap1991
1999	15,000			6	10	16	937		10	39	20	ap2000
2000	15,000			5	10	15	1,000		10	40	20	ap2001
2001	15,000			5	12	17	882		14	40	20	ap2002
2002	15,000			5	13	18	833		15	40	10	ap2003
2003	10,000			5	14	19	526		14	40	10	ap2004
2004	10,000			6	15	21	476		15	40	21	ap2005
2009	10,000			5	16	21	476		20	38	21	ap2010
2013	10,000			4	16	20	500		18	37	13	ap2014
2016	10,000			4	13	17	588		15	27	16	ap0217
Eparchy of Saint John XXIII of Sofia (Bulgarian)
2019	10,000			3	13	16	625		14	25	16	ap2020
2020	10,000			3	14	17	588		15	25	17	ap2021
2022	10,000			5	13	18	555		14	22	18	ap2023

Note: Any changes in boundaries over time are not indicated in the above table.

---

Affiliated Bishops, Deceased

• Ivan Dimitrov Garufalov, C. R. † (Apostolic Exarch: 6 Jul 1942 to 7 Aug 1951)
• Kiril Stefan (Nikola) Kurtev † (Apostolic Exarch: 31 Jul 1926 to 30 May 1941)
• Metodi Dimitrov Stratiev, A.A. † (Coadjutor Apostolic Exarch: 28 Apr 1963; Apostolic Exarch: 9 Mar 1971 to 5 Sep 1995)

Source(s)

✠