"We have the relics of various saints in many places in Bulgaria - in the Rozhen and Glozhenski monasteries, here in the village of Lozen, and there are many other places where the relics of St George are kept. However, what is important to remember is that it is the faith with which you approach them that matters! If you have strong faith and pray, the saint will help you and carry your prayer to God. Then you will be helped! But if we approach with doubt and superficial faith, there is no way we will get what we are looking for," says Father Georgi, sharing his personal story to make a point:

"My wife had cancer and God led us to the relics of St George in Nigrita. I would say it was a miracle because her tumour was over 7 centimetres. Of course, we cannot ignore the medical intervention - the prescribed radiotherapy. But the doctors expected the tumour to shrink by about 1-2 centimetres. After we went to Nigrita, they were surprised because her tumour had shrunk to 0.4 centimetres. So it is up to you to decide whether it was a miracle or something else happened.

Father Georgi Markov adds that many faithful suffering from various ailments come to him for help. He has personally driven people with limited mobility to the Orthodox Church of St George in the Greek town of Nigrita to pray for healing before the saint's relics. He recounts one such case:

"We have a young man here, about 45 years old. He had read somewhere that the relics were coming and he came with his mother to worship. He is one of the people I drove to Nigrita in my own car. He had cancer. Father Georgios from the church in Nigrita and I held a prayer service to the saint and prayed for this man's healing. And after 20 days he came to the church with much better test results. Now his suffering is over. He is alive and well! We spoke before Easter".

According to Father Georgi from the village of Gorni Lozen, there are many cases of healing. He says that most of them are described in extensive documentation, including medical records, kept by Father Georgios Kelempekis at the Church of St George in the Greek town of Nigrita.

"There is actually a very interesting story about another miracle that happened in Nigrita. Father Georgios told me about a woman with cancer who came to the church to pray and said: 'Father Georgios, tomorrow at 8am I am going to have an operation, my test results are not good'. The priests took out the relics and read a prayer to the saint. The next morning the woman went to the hospital. The doctors began preparing her for surgery, starting with tests. It turned out that a miracle had indeed happened! 

The tests showed no sign of cancer. At the same time the second priest, Vasileios, who works with Father Georgios, entered the church and noticed a fragrant scent. He called Father Georgios and asked him if a cleaner had come to clean the floor or the icons with a detergent, but Father Georgios replied that no one had been in the church. Later, on entering the altar, Father Vasileios realised that the smell was coming from the relics of St George himself. Later that day, when the woman came to give thanks for the miracle, they realised that the fragrance had filled the church at the very moment when the hospital had declared her completely healthy. Imagine how the woman must have felt, knowing that she had only a few days to live!"

Father Georgi Markov concluded by saying that miracles happen every day and that even the vocations we choose cannot be practised without "God's permission and the grace of the Holy Spirit". The priest gave his blessing: May God grant everyone health, love, peace and spiritual serenity, and may St George the Victorious protect Bulgaria and all Bulgarians!