The fact remains that during several centuries the Christians in the Turkish Empire—and among them the Bulgarians—have, owing to this peculiarity of the Turkish State policy, enjoyed a relative independence, and in this way have been able to preserve their nationality, language, and customs. These exceptional historical circumstances explain at the same time why, among these Christians, the sentiment of patriotism has been transformed into an attachment to their religious communities and their national Church. This sentiment of patriotism and spiritual consciousness, which, owing to the oppression exercised by the Greek clergy, after the year 1770 had weakened to the extent of national self-forgetfulness and identification with the Greeks, awakened once more among the Bulgarians during the second half of last century. It acquired great force in the course of the struggle for the restoration of the ancient national Church. This new struggle began at the time of the Tanzimat, a period when the Porte had to fight against the growing omnipotence of the Patriarchate, which was threatening the very foundations of the State. It had, as its legal support, the Hatti-Houmayoun of 1856, which reverted to the historical rights of all religious communities. The second part of Section II. of this Act runs as follows:— “Chaque communauté Chrétienne ou d’autre rite non-musulman sera tenue, dans un délai fixé et avec le concours d’une commission formée _ad hoc_ dans son sein, de procéder, avec ma haute approbation et sous la surveillance de ma Sublime Porte, à l’examen de ses immunités et privilèges et d’y discuter et soumettre à ma Sublime Porte les réformes exigées par le progrès des lumières et du temps.” Progress, as well as the State interests of the Empire at that time, required the administrative separation of the Bulgarian Church from the Patriarchate, and its endowment with a special chief and clergy. It is interesting to note that, in this struggle of the Sublime Porte with the Patriarchate for the denationalisation of the Christian communities—which had for its consequence the weakening of the Patriarchate and the restriction of its privileges—the Bulgarian nation acted as allies of the Empire, with “the high approval of the Sultan” and “under the control of the Sublime Porte.” Thanks mainly to this alliance and to this struggle against the Patriarchate in favour of the Bulgarian nation, the Patriarchate was considerably weakened through the Organic Statute of 1862, while the Bulgarian Church was restored in virtue of the Firman of 1870.