Today, Bulgaria celebrates St. George’s Day! May 6 is also the Day of Bravery and the Day of the Bulgarian Army. The day gives the start of the farming cycle, which ends on St. Demetrius Day (October 26). In Bulgarian folk beliefs, St. George is regarded as the lord of spring verdure and fertility who unlocks springs and rivers, slays the dragon and rules over the fields and the herds. St. George is regarded as patron saint of farmers, mainly of shepherds and their flocks.
St. George is one of the first martyrs for the Christian faith, who lived at the end of the third and the beginning of the fourth century AD, when believers were subjected to persecution and torture by Emperor Diocletian. St. George was only 20 years old, but he had everything that man back then was seeking for- a higher rank in the imperial army, place as a member of the state council, wealth. St. George died in 303 AD.
Icons of St. George slaying a dragon with his long spear can be seen in every Orthodox temple in Bulgaria. Seven large monasteries are named after St. George. Six of them are in Bulgaria and one is located on Mount Athos. Dozens of churches, including the Church of Saint George the Victorious in Kolusha neighborhood in Kyustendil, are named after the saint. The Church of Saint George the Victorious located at the foot of the Osogovo Mountain was declared an architectural and cultural monument of national importance.
Today, August 18, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church marks the Dormition of St. John of Rila – the heavenly patron of Bulgaria. He is the most beloved saint in Bulgaria and is revered even beyond the borders of this country. We associate..
The history of the largest Bulgarian church in Bulgaria from the National Revival period "The Assumption of the Virgin Mary" in the town of Pazardzhik is long and interesting. It is assumed that the first church there was built in the 17th century. It..
On 10 August 1915, the first Bulgarian-built aeroplane took to the skies for a test flight in Bozhurishte. It was designed by inventor Assen Yordanov, whose name still features in the textbooks used to train pilots and engineers today. From an early..
On 19 October 2025, the day on which Orthodox Bulgarians commemorate St Ivan Rilski the Miracle-Worker, the newly renovated St Ivan Rilski Church in Chicago..
Archaeologist Nikolay Ovcharov on Thursday announced the discovery of a large circular temple at Perperikon, the early-historic rock complex in the..
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