Joseph (Bosakov) of America and Australia

Metropolitan Joseph (Bosakov) was the diocesan prelate of the Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Diocese of the USA, Canada, and Australia. He was born Ivan Blagoev, on December 6, 1942 in the village of Slavovitsa, Pazardzhik, Bulgaria.

Biography

From 1956 to 1961 - he was enrolled as a student of Sofia Seminary. In 1970 he graduated from the Sofia Ecclesiastical Academy.

On April 12, 1970 he entered Troyan Monastery and was tonsured as a monk by Metropolitan Lovchanski Maxim (Patriarch of Bulgaria) with the name Joseph in honor of the righteous Joseph of Arimathea . On May 3 of that year he was ordained deacon by Metropolitan Lovchanski Maxim. On December 27of the same year he was ordained to the rank of a priest.

From July 1971 he served as protosyngellos of the Diocese of Sofia.

From 10 October 1971, at the direction of the Holy Synod he passed specialization in Moscow Theological Academy.

On July 21, 1973, after defending his doctoral thesis, with the blessing of the Patriarch of the Bulgarian Maxim he was elevated by Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Pimen to the rank of a archimadrite.

On his return to Bulgaria was again appointed as protosyngellos of the Diocese of Sofia.

He was consecrated to the rank of bishop on December 7, 1980 and appointed second vicar of Velichskogo of the Diocese of Sofia.

On March 24, 1981 he was appointed superior at Troyan Monastery.

On April 1, 1983 he was appointed head of Akronskoy Diocese and on April 17, 1986 approved as its Metropolitan.

On December 19, 1989 the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church merged the New York and Akronskoy Diocese Bulgarian Orthodox Diocese of the USA, Canada and Australia. Since then Metropolitan Joseph served as its ruling bishop as Metropolitan with seat in New York.

He published in the Bulgarian church periodical series a number of articles on Church Public Affairs.

On February 15, 2013 at the meeting of the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church he was appointed Chairman of the Central Commission. The main purpose of this synod was to determine the three candidates for the patriarchal throne.

At the end of February 2013, he filed a petition for retirement. Metropolitan Joseph notified that he has prepared a candidate for a place and wants to return to live permanently in Bulgaria.