"It was in the Bulgarian lands that the disciples of Cyril and Methodius created literary centres that made Bulgaria a second centre of Orthodox civilisation after Byzantium. Here was the foundation and the root from which the pan-Slavic culture drew strength and flourished, forever consolidating its universality and equality in the Christian world". With these words in a video address, President Rumen Radev opened the international conference in Sofia dedicated to the Cyrillic alphabet - "We too have given something to the world".

"Today, the Cyrillic alphabet is not the property of the Bulgarian people alone. From our lands, the letters now illuminate a much wider spiritual space, uniting hundreds of millions of people. Having become our most precious gift to human civilisation, the Cyrillic alphabet builds bridges, connects worlds, melts distances and differences," the Head of State said.

In the Patriarch's address, which was read by Bishop Polycarp, the cleric said that the Cyrillic alphabet is a symbol of our Slavic Orthodox identity. It is in this identity that one of the problems of modern times lies. "Attempts to destroy it in its spiritual and cultural aspect lead to painful processes that inflict deep wounds on society," he said.

It is unacceptable today that history is replaced, misrepresented and sometimes conveniently forgotten in order to serve political considerations or geostrategic interests, said Vice-President Iliana Yotova in her speech.

"With today's international forum on the Cyrillic alphabet, we oppose all attempts, both from the East and from the West, to falsify facts, to deny the contribution of the early Bulgarian state, to reject or ignore the importance of the two schools of literature - the Preslav and the Ohrid school - whose influence went far beyond the borders of Bulgaria at that time."

The scientific forum, initiated by Vice-President Iliana Iotova, brings together prominent scholars of Bulgarian from this country and 11 other countries, including Austria, Belgium, Germany, Greece, Italy, Poland, Lithuania and Serbia. 

The focus of their reports will be on the alphabet as a Bulgarian contribution to Slavic literacy and to the world's cultural heritage. The Vice-President said that the scientific meeting would become a tradition and would be held every two years as a platform for the presentation of new scientific facts and research on the Cyrillic alphabet.

The conference will conclude with a round table discussion on "Cyrillic in the 21st Century" and an exhibition on "Miraculous Icons and Sacred Relics of the Balkans", provided by the State Institute for Culture under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

On November 8 and 9, the foreign guests will travel to the ancient Bulgarian capitals of Pliska, Preslav and Tarnovo, visit the repositories of several museums and get acquainted with newly discovered epigraphic and archaeological sites in north-eastern Bulgaria.