Petar Parchevich

Who was Petar Parchevich?

Petar Parchevich or Petar Mihaylov Parchev was a Bulgarian Roman Catholic archbishop, diplomat, scholar, baron of Austria and one of the architects behind the anti-Ottoman Chiprovtsi Uprising.

A native of Chiprovtsi and one of Bulgaria's most educated people of the 17th century, Parchevich was among the leaders of the Bulgarian Catholics. His numerous diplomatic visits to the royal courts of Europe were mostly in an attempt to garner support for an anti-Ottoman uprising in Bulgaria, which he did not live to witness. Nevertheless, his efforts in defending Christianity earned him a noble title from the Austrian emperors, and he took up several important positions within the Roman Catholic ecclesiastical hierarchy.