ПАВЕЛ ДУВАНЛИЙСКИ: ЕПИСКОПЪТ КАТО ДИПЛОМАТ
PAVEL DUVANLIYSKI: THE BISHOP AS A DIPLOMAT

Summary/Abstract: This article examines the epistolary legacy of Bishop Pavel Duvanliyski (Gaidadzhiyski), head of the Nicopolis Diocese during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, focusing on his role as both a spiritual leader and a diplomat in a turbulent historical context. His correspondence with the Congregation for the Propagation of the Faith (Propaganda Fide), with cardinals such as Antonelli, Borgia, and Gerdil, and with his missionaries, reflects a complex network of ecclesiastical diplomacy amid political instability, ethnic conflicts, and religious intolerance under Ottoman rule. Through a close reading of Duvanliyski’s letters (1770–1804), the article reveals how episcopal correspondence functioned as both a pastoral instrument and a diplomatic report – providing accurate intelligence on the condition of the Catholic communities in northern Bulgaria, appeals for missionary support, and subtle negotiations with Ottoman and European authorities. Duvanliyski’s tone combines compassion and strategic restraint; his instructions to missionaries emphasize prudence, intercultural dialogue, and discretion, which align him with the broader tradition of “missionary diplomacy” in frontier Christianity. His letters document not only pastoral hardship but also the cultural mediation between Rome, Vienna, and the Ottoman provinces – an overlooked dimension of early modern diplomatic practice.

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