At its last sitting, Bulgaria’s cabinet approved more than EUR 2 million for the restoration of religious temples and church buildings. Almost a quarter of the amount is to be spent on the conservation and the restoration of the Muldava Monastery St. Petka in the municipality of Assenovgrad. The monastery was founded in the 14^th century. It was a literary center during the National Revival period. Many ancient and rare manuscripts are kept at the monastery’s library. There was a monastic school at the library, which functioned until 1888.

The Holy Martyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki Cathedral in Vidin is also expected to be renovated. It is the second-largest cathedral in Bulgaria after St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia. In the northern part of the church, there is a unique mural of a biblical scene similar to the one painted in Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia- “King Peter’s envoys served gifts to St. John of Rila”, in which St. John of Rila returned all of the gold and precious gifts and accepted a small portion of fruits only. It is noteworthy that the images of Bulgaria’s national heroes Vasil Levski, Georgi Rakovski, Hristo Botev, Georgi Benkovski, Todor Aleksandrov and Lyuben Karavelov are depicted as envoys. The author of the mural Gospodin Zhelyazkov most likely painted the images of the historical figures with the blessing of the then Metropolitan of Vidin Neophyte.

Compiled by: Darina Grigorova

English version: Kostadin Atanasov