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==Life==
Constantine Markov, (Bulgarian: Константин Марков), was born on [[January 3]], 1901 in Sofia, Bulgaria. Entering a theological career in the Orthodox Christian Church, Constantine received the name Cyril as he was [[tonsure]]d into a [[monasticism|monastic]] life on [[December 30]], 1923 at [[St. Nedelya Church in Sofia]].
He advanced through the [[Holy Orders]] and was [[consecration of a bishop|consecrated]] the [[Metropolitan]] of Plovdiv in 1938. During World War II., Metr. Cyril participated in the Bulgarian popular resistance to the Holocaust. In 1943, he confronted the captors of Bulgarian Jews slated to be deported. While he initially pledged to join in solidarity with the deportees, Metr. Cyril then told the guards he would block the train with his own body. After which the guards reply that they have just received new orders to release the Jews. This episode was recounted in the oratorio "A Melancholy Beauty," composed by Georgi Andreev with libretto by [[Scott Cairns]] and Aryeh Finklestein, that was first performed in June 2011 in Washington, D.C.
