Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

The Protection of the Theotokos - a great feast for Orthodox Christians 

2
Photo: Facebook/Donna Hamamdjiev

The Orthodox Church honors today the church feast of Pokrov Bogorodichen. The feast is both named The Protection of the Theotokos, or The Intercession of the Theotokos as in most Slavic languages, the word "Pokrov" means both "covering" and "protection". 

The feast originated to honor the apparition of the Mother of God in Constantinople in the first half of the tenth century. In the church of  Blachernae, near the city gates during a night vigil, St. Andrew and several others saw the Virgin Mary accompanied by St. John the Baptist, St. John the Theologian and other apostles and angels. She walked to the center of the temple, knelt down and remained in prayer for a long time with her face wet with tears. Then she took off her veil (pokrov) and spread it over the people as a sign of protection. At that time, in 910, the inhabitants of the city were threatened by a barbarian invasion, but after the apparition of the Virgin Mary the danger passed and the city was saved from bloodshed and suffering. 

In gratitude for the protection of the Mother of God, the Church designated this day as an important Christian feast. It is celebrated only in Slavic countries - probably because St. Andrew, who received a vision of the sanctity of this apparition, was a Slav by origin. 

Many Orthodox churches and monasteries in Bulgaria bear the name of The Protection of the Theotokos.



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

Gallery

More from category

Cloudy and foggy weather expected on Thursday, temperatures in wide limits

On Thursday, minimum temperatures in Bulgaria will be in wide limits, from minus 6° - minus 8°C in places with fog, to about 5°C in the extreme southwestern regions of the country. In Sofia, it will be about minus 1°C.  During the day,..

published on 2/26/25 7:15 PM
Deputy Premier Tomislav Donchev

Bulgaria will try to save part of the second payment under the Recovery and Resilience Plan

Our country has a six-month deadline until the end of August 2025 to restart the process of adopting the laws related to the Recovery and Resilience Plan. This will be done in an attempt to save most of the second payment under the plan,..

published on 2/26/25 6:32 PM
Daniel Mitov

The Interior Ministry is performing well with the checks in the interior of the country after Bulgaria's entry into Schengen

The Ministry of Interior is performing well. There has been an increase in the amount of seized drugs and human traffickers caught at the Schengen borders , Minister of Interior Daniel Mitov said in response to a journalist's question about how the..

published on 2/26/25 4:48 PM