There are historical events which uplift a nation even though they did not occur on the battlefield but in the domain of the spirit. On 24 May, day of the Slavonic alphabet, Bulgarian culture and education we invariably go back to one such event - the creation of the alphabet which the brothers Cyril and Methodius gave the Slavs.

“Their spirit is so powerful that even from the distant 9th century they saw clearly into our time, the 21st century,” wrote writer Theodora Dimova in her speech about Cyril and Methodius. And if we dare try and take a look at the present day as they would have seen it, we could ask ourselves what we have done to our language, the educational mission and the spirit they bequeathed us.

“I am optimistic, though it may seem pessimism should prevail,” says Theodora Dimova. “Ultimately we have preserved the Bulgarian language, the Bulgarian spirit, literature, word and even though we are a small nation we gave other Slavic nations an alphabet. All this gives us good reason to feel proud of being Bulgarian without any noisy or clamorous patriotism.”

Yet, the title of the book of essays which the writer released recently - Orotsi (the misspelt Bulgarian word for “lessons” urotsi) seems to be a sad reflection of the ignorance that surrounds us - the kind of ignorance that is not ashamed of itself but is brazen and arrogant instead.

“The title came from a newspaper ad - someone was offering private Bulgarian language lessons (orotsi),” Theodora Dimova says. “It seemed so much like a metaphor of what Bulgarians in our day are like because it is this kind of aggressive ignorance that has the sense of superiority that intelligent people lack. And if there are any lessons to be learnt they are that we should not make way for this kind of aggressive ignorance that seems to be crawling out of every hole. We should put up a resistance - with our own behavior, our work, the way we treat one another. But we should also be appreciative of people, because that is something we Bulgarians are not good at - when we see someone who merits our respect and admiration.”

Theodora Dimova says that there is reason for optimism when we take a look at the young and educated people whose sensibility and perception is intact and who find it more interesting to live in Bulgaria. But the question she asked some time ago: Are we a nation reborn, or a nation humiliated? - is, unfortunately no less poignant:

“We are humiliated because poverty is very humiliating, it is very visible, especially outside Sofia. We see misappropriation, lawlessness, we see the judicial system, the health system crumbling and that humiliates us all because lawlessness takes its toll. But we must keep the faith and go on hoping that this is temporary and that sooner or later the criminals will pay for what they have done and justice will be served,” Theodora Dimova says.

Poverty, vulgarity and non-stop propaganda - all this is clothed in hate speech.

“Verbal aggression is symptomatic and painful but if we don't take it seriously, it loses its hold over us,” Theodora Dimova says. “Propaganda is all around, because it is difficult to pick out what makes sense out of all the things that are being said - it is a matter of the criteria society and each one of us has. But to my mind an intelligent, shrewd person has the sense to recognize propaganda and ignore it.”

Being on guard and well-informed, including via the written word - that is the only way we can develop our sensory faculties. The daughter of writer Dimitar Dimov is currently working on a book about the first year in the life of Jesus Christ. And as on 24 May we celebrate the work of the Sts. Cyril and Methodius, what better day to say our prayers to the two saints?

“To continue to watch over Bulgaria, to continue to give us strength, to continue to inspire us with faith in ourselves, tenacity and purity.”

English version: Milena Daynova