Voivode Kiril Slepov

Kirko Ivanov Slepov, known as Father Kiril, was a Bulgarian priest, revolutionary and participant in the April Uprising.

Born in Sopot in 1830, he first studied at the local Monastery of the Holy Saviour and then at Sopot's modern Bulgarian school. In 1850, he took monastic vows under the name Kiril and settled at the Monastery of St Nicholas near Kalugerovo village in the Pazardzhik region. Over time, he became the most respected clergyman not only in the monastery but also in the surrounding settlements, where he spread the ideas of a Bulgarian uprising.

Father Kiril maintained contact with Vasil Levski and Georgi Benkovski, who often hid in the monastery. In 1876, before the uprising, he organised a meeting attended by more than 30 representatives from different villages, who swore an oath to take part in the struggle for freedom.

After the uprising began, Father Kiril was summoned under guard to Pazardzhik, but managed to clear himself and was released. Nevertheless, he was unable to attend the Grand National Assembly at Oborishte. In April 1876, when the uprising was proclaimed, he was in Panagyurishte. He then set out for Belovo with Zahari Stoyanov, but unsuccessfully attempted to raise an uprising because of the blockade by bashi-bazouks and Circassians.

After the uprising's defeat, Father Kiril was captured and sent to the Mehterhane prison in Constantinople, where, after three months of torture, he was poisoned and died on 17 January 1877.