At a special ceremony in Sofia, the Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov delivered the 2012 annual state award Saint Paisius of Hilendar to Professor Elka Bakalova. Professor Bakalova is a prominent expert in culture and an art critic, a research-worker in the Folklore Institute at the Bulgarian Аcademy of Sciences. She is also a lecturer at the New Bulgarian University and the National Academy of Arts. Elka Bakalova received this prestigious award as recognition for her great

© Photo: BGNES

contribution to the development of the liberal arts, as well as for her presence in the social and the cultural life in Bulgaria. She was internationally acknowledged for her contribution to the preservation of the Bulgarian cultural heritage. The award, which is a silver necklace and an honorary diploma, is given on occasion of the Day of the National Revival Leaders, celebrated on November 1 and Professor Bakalova is its 13th winner. “She is one of the renowned arts critics and experts of the medieval and the renaissance culture.  Her researches are dedicated to the Byzantium and Bulgarian medieval arts as well as to the Christian rituality”, said the Bulgarian Minister of Culture Vezhdi Razhidov during the ceremony.

“Her contribution to the Bulgarian medieval arts studies is of great importance for the Bulgarian History and for its promotion worldwide",Minister Rashidov said. "Many of her alumni are now famous scientists. Her multiple publications, monographs and books place her next to the people, who contributed to the promotion of the national identity and make her one of the national revival leaders of today.”

“I accept gratefully and with a great sense of responsibility this award. I am receiving it in a specific and important period of the history of our Christian country”, Professor Elka Bakalova replied. 

“In 2012, we mark the 250th anniversary of the Slav-Bulgarian History, written by Paisius of Hilendar, which gave the name of this prestigious award. Meanwhile, we pay last respects to the holy deed of his Holiness Patriarch Maxim, who left this world few days ago. Maxim has contributed to the preservation of the entity of the Bulgarian church over the last 40 years. Today, when the total crisis obstructs the protection of the cultural heritage, I assume this award as a special attention towards the Christian culture and its institutions and towards art.  I dedicated my entire career to these fields. The researches I made of the monasteries, where my children grew up, and the studies I made in the Bulgarian academy of Sciences aim to create a full notion of this aspect of the Bulgarian spiritual life. It is not necessary to remind that religion and language are the basic components of our national identity. The issue regarding the ethnical and cultural identity turned out to be very important in terms of the establishment of the European cultural space and the fears from the loss o this identity in future Europe.”

Here is what else the winner of this prestigious award told RB:

“Each country holds dear its medieval art, because it is part of its history. The medieval art was oriented towards religion. In Bulgaria, which was once a rival of Byzantium and later its successor, there are great orthodox works of art in many churches and monasteries. One of them is the Bachkovo Monastery, which was described in my publications. I also wrote a book about this place. One of the oldest frescoes can be found there. The miraculous icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary can also be seen there. Another ancient monastery is the Rozhen Monastery. People can see there an icon of Virgin Mary, which was brought from Mount Athos. I wrote many publications about this place as well. Our biggest and most popular monastery is the Rila Monastery. In its oldest building- the tower, visitors can see some wonderful frescoes. The main church of the monastery, which dates back to the 1830’ ies was decorated by many icon-painters, among whose were famous ones from the Samokov region, who lived during the revival period. The relics of Saint Ivan Rilski are kept there. One can also see there a miraculous icon of Virgin Mary and remains of relics, which belong to famous saints from the Orthodox World.”

The Orthodox nations living on the Balkans are closely connected, says Professor Bakalova.

“Romania was established as an independent country a bit later than Bulgaria," she further explains. "However, after Bulgaria fell under the Ottoman Yoke, many of the Bulgarian priests went to Romania, where they continued to work for the protection of this country’s religious traditions. Many liturgical books as well as the works of the Bulgarian Patriarch Evtymiy of Tarnovo were sent to Romania. The Old Bulgarian language was used as a church language in Romania in all orthodox churches and monasteries until the 17th century. These places carry the ancient Bulgarian traditions. However, they embody some local features and achievements as well. For example, in Moldova district (Northern Romania), the churches were painted on the outside. This is a specific form of icon-painting, which is typical only for this region. However, we are tightly connected to these places. We also have close connections with Serbia. The relics of King Stephan Milutin of Serbia, who was one of the most influential rulers of the 14th century, are kept in Sofia in the Saint Nedelya Church."

English version: Kostadin Atanasov