Learn About our diocesan history!

Key Historical milestones

• 1907: The first Bulgarian parish in North America was established in Madison, Illinois.1963: Following jurisdictional complications and the rise of the communist regime in Bulgaria, a group of parishes led by Father Kyrill (Yonchev) broke away from the Patriarchate in Bulgaria.
• 1964: Father Kyrill was elevated to the episcopacy to shepherd the newly formed "Bulgarian Diocese in Exile" (later known as the Bulgarian Diocese of Toledo), which initially joined the Russian Orthodox Church Outside of Russia (ROCOR).
• 1976: Under Bishop Kyrill's leadership, the diocese petitioned to join the Orthodox Church in America to achieve full canonical unity.
• 2002: The diocesan center relocated from East Toledo to a new, custom-built cathedral in nearby Rossford, Ohio.
• 2012: Following Archbishop Kyrill’s passing in 2007, Archimandrite Alexander (Golitzin) was elected and consecrated as the new Bishop of Toledo and the Bulgarian Diocese.Today, the diocese is an ethnically diverse community, though heavily concentrated in the Midwest, there are several parishes and monasteries across multiple states.