Joseph I of Bulgaria

His Holiness Joseph I
Bulgarian Exarch and Metropolitan of Lovech
Church	Bulgarian Orthodox Church (Bulgarian Exarchate)
See	Constantinople
Installed	24 April 1877
Term ended	20 June 1915
Predecessor	Anthim I
Successor	Parthenius
Personal details
Born	Lazar Yovchev (1840-05-05)May 5, 1840 Kalofer, Ottoman Empire
Died	June 20, 1915(1915-06-20) (aged 75) Sofia, Bulgaria
Buried	St. Nedelya Church, Sofia
Nationality	Bulgarian
Denomination	Eastern Orthodox Church
Residence	Constantinople, Ottoman Empire
Parents	Feodor Yovchev (1818-1898) and Anna Melissa Wiktoria Coburg-Yovchev (1818-1915)
Spouse	Aleksandra Hees (married from 1859 until 1874)
Children	Melinda Verbovsky (1860-1948), Feodorovna (1862-1899) and Mihayil (1864-1963)
Signature

Exarch Joseph I (also known as Iosif I, secular name Lazar Yovchev, Template:Lang-bg; May 5, 1840, Kalofer, Ottoman Empire – June 20, 1915, Sofia, Bulgaria) was a Bulgarian Exarch from 1877 to 1915. He has great merits for preserving the unity of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and for the Bulgarian educational and ecclesiastical work in Macedonia and Thrace, which remained in the Ottoman Empire after 1878. Lazar married Aleksandra Hees in 1859 both aged 19 respectively in Sofia. Lazar had 3 children: Melinda (1860-1948), Feodorovna (1862-1899) and Mihayil (1865-1963). Melinda married Aryeh Verbovsky in 1878 and had a son and Feodorovna married Iosephi in 1881 and had a daughter whereas Mihayil never married but became a priest in 1882 aged 17 until his passing aged 98.

Lazar's grave is marked with a white cross and a bed with flowers, it is located on the south side of the church "St. Nedelya" in Sofia, near the side altar door.