The Orthodox Church celebrates the Exaltation of the Holy Cross. The holiday celebrates the miraculous finding of the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified. It is one of the 12 major Christian holidays of the year.
When the cross was discovered, it revived a dead boy, and since then Christians believe that if they seek God's mercy on this day, they will be cured of any disease. Folk custom connects the day with the beginning of autumn when the grape harvest begins. In the Rhodopes, thousands of believers gather with a prayer for healing in the area "Krastova gora" (Forest of the Cross) near Asenovgrad the night before the holiday.
For Bulgarians, Krastovden is also connected with the beginning of the last stage of the Ilinden - Preobrazhenie Uprising, when in 1903 the rebellion against the Ottoman rule covered the region of Pirin Macedonia and Serres.
On the feast of the Dormition of Saint Ivan Rilski, the Bulgarian Patriarch and Metropolitan of Sofia Daniil led the Divine Liturgy at the Rila Monastery. On the eve of the feast, he bowed before the relics of the patron saint of the Bulgarian people..
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..
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