Paisius of Hilendar
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Saint Paisius of Hilendar or Paisiy Hilendarski (Bulgarian: свети Паисий Хилендарски) (1722 – 1773) was a Bulgarian clergyman and a key Bulgarian National Revival figure. He is most famous for being the author of Istoriya Slavyanobolgarskaya, the first work of Bulgarian historiography.
Paisius was born in the Samokov eparchy of the time, probably in the town of Bansko. He established himself in the Hilandar monastery on Mount Athos in 1745, where he was later a hieromonk and deputy-abbot. Collecting materials for two years through hard work and even visiting the lands of the Germans, he finished his Istoriya Slavyanobolgarskaya in 1762 in the Zograf Monastery.
As he toured Bulgaria as a mendicant friar, he brought his work, which was copied and spread among the Bulgarians. He is thought to have died on the way to Mount Athos near Ampelino (modern-day Loznitsa).