On September 17, the Orthodox Church honors the memory of the Holy Martyrs Sophia, Vyara, Nadezhda and Lyubov ( Wisdom, Faith, Hope and Love). The legend has it that Sophia and her three daughters were subjected to terrible torture by Emperor..
On August 6, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church celebrates one of its great feasts - the Transfiguration of the Lord. The feast dates to the first centuries of Christianity and is associated with one of the most important Gospel events – the appearance of..
On July 20, the Orthodox Church revers the memory of the Holy Prophet Elijah, one of the greatest Old Testament righteous men, alongside Moses and St. John the Forerunner. On St. Elijah Day Bulgarians also celebrate the anniversary of the..
A March for the Family "in defence of traditional family values" was held in the centre of Sofia. Hundreds of Bulgarians responded to the call to demonstrate, despite the rainy weather, supporting the thesis that "daddy is a man and mommy is a woman"...
On 10 May, 1953, the third ecclesiastical and national council in Sofia declared the Bulgarian Orthodox church a Patriarchate - from an Exarchate. The Metropolitan Bishop of Plovdiv Cyril was elected patriarch after a 560-year break. In the..
The third Sunday after Pascha is observed by the Orthodox Church as the Feast of the Holy Myrrh-bearing Women. Few people, mostly women, stood at the cross and witnessed Christ's crucifixion and death. On the third day, at dawn, the myrrh-bearing women..
Christ's sufferings or passions, as the Church calls them, reach their climax on the day of His crucifixion. Condemned without guilt, scourged and reviled by the crowd, the Saviour takes the steep road to Golgotha later called "Via Dolorosa"...
During the holy liturgy in Orthodox churches of Bulgaria, there is one chant that is performed only once a year. Only on Good Friday, the chant “Nadgrobnoe ridanie" (Sepulchral lamentation in English), also known as the "Opelo Christovo” (Requiem..
On January 18, the Orthodox Church revers the memory of St. Athanasius the Great. According to popular belief, St. Athanasius is a patron of winter storms. On horseback, donned in a silk shirt, goes St. Athanasius into the forest and yells, “Go away,..
As the legend has it, St. Stephen was fully devoted to his service. He was among the first 7 deacons, initiated by the first apostles. He was a wonderworker- he would put his hands on ill bodies and those would be healed in a miraculous manner. Elated..
