On the eve of the great Christian Feast of the Epiphany, also known as Yordanovden, a great water blessing ceremony was served in all Bulgarian Orthodox churches. The ritual refers to The Baptism of Christ in the sacred River Jordan by John the Baptist.
This is one of the most solemn sacraments of the Church's ordinances and is celebrated after the Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil. The Great Epiphany Blessing takes plave twice a year - on Epiphany and on the eve of Epiphany itself. The first Christians performed water-blessing rituals on the night before the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Since then, Orthodox Christians in Bulgaria have been praying at midnight before the Epiphany. It is believed that this is the time when the skies open and the Lord hears their sincere prayers.
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 will officially reopen its doors. Named after Bulgaria’s heavenly patron , the church will host..
Archaeologist Nikolay Ovcharov on Thursday announced the discovery of a large circular temple at Perperikon, the early-historic rock complex in the Eastern Rhodopes, BTA reported. Dating to the 3rd–4th centuries AD , the structure is believed to..
This summer, archaeologists once again breathed life into the legends woven into the rocks of Kaliakra . Among the ruins of the once majestic fortress above the Black Sea, over 400 artefacts were discovered, shedding new light on..
Cloudy
Rain
Overcast, rain
Scattered showers