Patriarch Maxim of Bulgaria
Religious Leader
Leader of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church who led his country's Christian community from the communist era into democracy.
He grew up under the communist regime that banned or co-opted religious organizations.
After the fall of the Soviet Union, he faced a revolt in his own church by those who thought he was a government figurehead.
He was born in a mountain village in north-central Bulgaria.
He hosted Pope John Paul II in 2002, re-establishing ties with the Catholic Church.