In her speech at the official celebration in Sofia on 24 May - the Day of Saints Cyril and Methodius, the Bulgarian alphabet, education, culture and Slavic literature - Vice President Iliana Yotova emphasised that the Glagolitic alphabet, created 1,170 years ago, represented not only a new alphabet but also a spiritual revolution that laid the foundations for a new worldview and philosophy centuries before the Renaissance.

Quoting St. Constantine-Cyril the Philosopher, she said: “If I pray in an unknown language, my spirit prays, but my mind remains barren...” 'These words give us eternal light on the path to knowledge and spirituality. They created an entire people, gave birth to the Bulgarian language, wrote our books, shaped our destiny and continue to write our history. They gave the world the civilisation of the Slavs and guided us through time!”

She stated that Bulgarian writers are changing the spiritual map of Europe. "From here, from Bulgaria, books begin to speak in a language that many nations can understand," she emphasised.

Editor: Miglena Ivanova