Exactly a year ago, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church established a new holiday in the church calendar - the Glorification of the holy relics of Saint Euthymius, Patriarch of Tarnovo. According to church sources, the last Bulgarian patriarch before the fall of Tarnovgrad under the raids of the Ottoman conquerors in 1393, died around 1404. Five centuries later, at the end of 1905, during works in the narthex of the church in the Bachkovo Monastery, carried out on the initiative of abbot Paisiy, two graves were discovered. In one of the graves the remains of a bishop's mantle, a large omophorion and two epitrachelions were found, while in the other grave there were relics and a rolled lead sheet with an inscription reading that these are the relics of Saint Euthymius, Patriarch of Tarnovo.

After the discovery, the Holy Synod appointed a commission to investigate the facts and document the find. Miracles were also described, namely the pleasant fragrance that emanated from the holy relics. Despite the testimonies, the former abbot of the monastery Theodosius, doubted their credibility, describing the history of the Bachkovo Monastery and its destruction by the Ottomans during the conquest of the Rhodopes. This was followed by a rebuttal by Prof. Vasil Zlatarski, who participated in the fact-checking commission appointed by the Synod, and in 1911 Bogdan Filov, director of the National Museum in Sofia and Yordan Ivanov initiated a new commission to the Synod. The latter found historical inconsistencies and cast serious doubt on the authenticity of the lead scroll found in the grave with the relics.

• Commemorating St. Patriarch Euthymius of Tarnovo

In order to put an end to the disputes and above all to pay respect to the last head of the Tarnovo Patriarchate, 120 later the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church established the day of Glorification of the holy relics of Saint Euthymius, Patriarch of Tarnovo, who is regarded as patron saint of the entire Bulgarian people.

• Liturgical procession marks feast of St. Euthymius of Tarnovo

Publication in English: Al. Markov

Photos: dveri.bg, BGNES