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

Day of holy martyr Zlata Maglenska - patroness of Bulgarians around the world

Photo: bg.wikipedia.org

On this day, Orthodox Christians pay homage to the Holy Great Martyr Zlata Maglenska. She lived during the Ottoman rule in the second half of the 18th century and sacrificed herself for her faith in Christ.

Zlata Maglenska was born in a poor Bulgarian family in the village of Slatino, Maglenska Diocese - today within the borders of Greece. She was a beautiful, but humble girl, known for her piety and pure heart. One day a young Turk kidnapped her, demanding that she renounce her faith, convert to Islam and marry him. However, the girl remained adamant, even when her family was threatened with death.

Zlata Mаglenska was tortured for a long time. Finally, she was hanged and her body cut into pieces. With a soul purified in suffering, she presented herself before the Lord on October 18, 1795.


Saint Zlata Maglenska is declared a great martyr and is revered throughout the Orthodox Christian world.
Following a proposal of the historian Prof. Plamen Pavlov, since 2009 Saint Zlata Maglenska has been chosen as the heavenly intercessor of Bulgarians abroad. 

The Executive Agency for Bulgarians Abroad has established an award for Bulgarian Woman of the Year in her name, which is awarded to Bulgarian women who have contributed to the preservation and development of the national consciousness and cultural identity of the Bulgarian communities around the world.

Translated and published by Rositsa Petkova


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.

More from category

Metropolitan Joseph, head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in the USA, Canada, and Australia

Metropolitan Joseph, blessed the new Parish Council of the Holy Trinity Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Madison

His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph, head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in the USA, Canada, and Australia, has blessed the newly elected Parish Council of the Holy Trinity Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Madison, Illinois. The new council was elected..

published on 7/21/25 3:11 PM
The monument at Petrova Niva in Strandzha in honor of the heroes of the Ilinden-Preobrazhensko Uprising

On the sacrifice and redemption in the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising

The revival of Bulgarian statehood after five centuries of Ottoman rule is connected with the April Uprising of 1876 and the Internal Revolutionary Organization previously created by Vasil Levski. After the Treaty of Berlin of 1878, the Bulgarians..

published on 7/20/25 9:43 AM

Saint Elijah’s Day: one of Bulgaria's most revered summer festivals

On 20 July (according to the Gregorian calendar), the Bulgarian Orthodox Church honours the Old Testament prophet Elijah, known in Bulgaria as Sveti Iliya. Celebrated as Ilinden, this day is one of the most venerated summer festivals in Bulgaria and is..

published on 7/20/25 8:15 AM