Priest Stoiko Vladislavov (born as he describes at the work “passional” at 1739), receiving later the name Sofroniy Vrachanski as born in Kotel at the family of trader. He is learning later at monastery school at his born town slavic and greek monastery books. He is working as dealer in frieze at this period, but his aspiration to spirit entertaining become bigger.
At 1762 he is being ordained as ecclesiastic. He is working as teacher and book-man at Kotel. Fateful moment of his life is the meeting with Paisius of Hilendar at 1765 year at Kotel. Paisius is showing him the Istoriya Slavyanobolgarskaya, the primary work of the Bulgarian Revival, of which Vladislavov made the first copy, known as Sophronius’ copy. Priest Stoiko Vladislavov travelled to Mount Athos between 1770 and 1775 and left Kotel in 1795, he served in the Karnobat parish later and went to a monastery in Arbanasi in 1794, becoming Bishop of Vratsa under the name of Sophronius on 17 September.It is known that there he was engaged in social activity and initiated the sending of a political delegation of Vratsa residents to Moscow according to the history sources. Sophornius had close ties with the Phanariote circles at this period. The result is the dislocations caused by Osman Pazvantoğlu, Then the bishop’s duties became more and more difficult for Vladislavov and he left Vratsa in 1797 to wander in northwestern Bulgaria, Priest Stoiko Vladislavov spent 3 years in Vidin.
Sophronius wrote his best and most popular works in Bucharest. There are Nedelnik —a collection of precepts and sermons for every holiday of the year based on Greek and Slavic stories. This collection had historical importance in initiating book printing in modern Bulgarian and establishing the Bulgarian vernacular as the language of literature. Sunday Evangelic Interpretation comes out in 1805, as well as a very popular autobiography, “Life and Sufferings of Sinful Sophronius”
Sofroniy Vrachanski is canonized as a saint by the Bulgarian Orthodox Church on 31 December 1964.
