ПРОГРАМИ
en de ru fr es sr gr al tr ro
Podcast in English
Share
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Cheesefare Sunday prepares the faithful for Great Lent and repentance

Photo: BTA

Today is Cheesefare Sunday. According to Orthodox tradition, this day is observed on the eve of Great Lent, when Christians seek and give forgiveness to each other. It is also known as Sirni Zagovezni because it marks the last day before Lent, when those fasting are allowed to eat dairy products and eggs.

Photo: BGNES
During the evening service, the faithful turn to one another with the words "Be forgiven! Forgive me!", embracing as a sign of brotherly love. Families gather and children humbly ask their parents for forgiveness.
For the Church, Great Lent is the most important fast of all, because it spiritually prepares the faithful for the most glorious feast - the Resurrection of Christ. In this sense, forgiveness is seen as an essential condition for communion with God.

The Church encourages the faithful to cleanse their hearts of accumulated grievances and to embrace mercy, humility and reconciliation - to make peace with their enemies and show compassion to all.

This can be achieved through fasting which is not only a restriction of food, but also a renunciation of various comforts and distractions that feed the ego.It also helps one turn inward, reflect on one's sins, and sincerely repent for actions driven by pride.

Through this purification of soul and body, believers prepare for union with God through Holy Communion.

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.
Radio Bulgaria History and religion    cheesefare sunday sirni zagovezni

More from category

Bulgaria celebrates the 140th anniversary of the Unification of the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia

Today, Bulgaria celebrates the 140th anniversary of the Unification of the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia. The center of the festivities is Plovdiv, where on this day in 1885, after the entry of the Golyamo Konare detachment into the..

published on 9/6/25 10:45 AM

Three points of views by Bulgarian historians on the Unification of Bulgaria in 1885

In June 1878, after the 10 th Russo-Turkish war in a row, at the Berlin congress, the lands in the Balkans inhabited by Bulgarians were divided up into five. Northern Dobrudja was handed over to Romania. Serbia got the Sanjak of Niš. The lands..

published on 9/6/25 8:05 AM

Bulgarian Orthodox Church marks start of ecclesiastical New Year on September 1

The New Church Year begins on September 1. The month of September is the seventh month of the year according to the Jewish calendar. It is associated with a number of biblical events, which is why it was designated as the beginning of the Church New..

published on 9/1/25 12:19 PM

WEATHER
Pick city: Sofía
Partly Cloudy
Min: 0 | Max: 17
Partly Cloudy
Min: 9 | Max: 17
Partly Cloudy
Min: 8 | Max: 17
Cloudy
Min: 3 | Max: 10
Partly Cloudy
Min: 1 | Max: 19
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 1 | Max: 18
Partly Cloudy
Min: 2 | Max: 17
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 2 | Max: 17
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 2 | Max: 18
Partly Cloudy
Min: -1 | Max: 17
Partly Cloudy
Min: 1 | Max: 19
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 2 | Max: 17
Partly Cloudy
Min: 1 | Max: 18
Partly Cloudy
Min: -1 | Max: 16
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 3 | Max: 16
Partly Cloudy
Min: 0 | Max: 17
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 4 | Max: 16
Cloudy
Min: 6 | Max: 13
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 3 | Max: 17
Partly Cloudy
Min: 5 | Max: 16
Partly Cloudy
Min: 0 | Max: 17
Partly Cloudy
Min: 0 | Max: 16
Partly Cloudy
Min: 1 | Max: 16
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 4 | Max: 16
Partly Cloudy
Min: 3 | Max: 18
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 3 | Max: 16
Partly Cloudy
Min: 3 | Max: 18
BULGARIA IN PICTURES
Which world-famous Bulgarian artist designed QSL cards for Radio Bulgaria?
Yasen Gyuzelev
Theodore Ushev
Christo Javacheff - Christo
Ilia Peikov
Lika Yanko

BULGARIANS ABROAD

Български English Русский Deutsch Српски Français Ελληνικά Español Shqip Türkçe Română
MOST VIEWED

Ventseslav Sabev from Geneva: When we believe in God, we carry a message of peace

During a visit by the Radio Bulgaria team to the Bulgarian Orthodox Parish "Nativity of the Mother of God" in Geneva, we had the pleasure of meeting..

published on 11/15/25 6:35 AM

115 years since the first airplane flight in Bulgaria

On November 15, 1910, Russian pilot Boris Maslenikov carried out the first airplane flight in Bulgaria. He took off in a Farman-type aircraft from an..

published on 11/15/25 6:45 AM

english@bnr.bg

+359 2 9336 661

Общи условия за използване на сайта | Политика за поверителност | Политика за "бисквитки"