On August 2, Bulgarians homage to Prophet St. Elijah according to the old style calendar. The day is marked on July 20 according to the new style. Prophet Elijah was one of the greatest Old Testament figures, an ardent opponent of paganism and a herald of the true faith in God.
Many Christian churches especially in Southwestern Bulgaria are named after him. The faithful honor the saint who is the patron of thunder and lightning and protector of the harvest from fires.
St. Elijah’s Day or popularly known as Ilinden in Bulgarian is the best-loved summertime feast day in the long and sultry days of harvesting.
St. Elijah’s day is a day celebrated by all people named Iliya, Ilian, Iliana and their derivatives – Ilka, Lina, Licho etc.
The Regional History Museum in Gabrovo displays a modest, rectangular piece of paper measuring 10 by 15 cm : the first Bulgarian banknote — a twenty-leva bill with the serial number 000001. It was printed on August 1, 1885, in St. Petersburg, and this..
Founding a Bulgarian Orthodox parish thousands of kilometers away from the homeland is no easy task, especially when the Bulgarian diaspora is scattered across vast distances. In Bulgaria we take for granted that every neighborhood in a large city has..
The Urvich Fortress continues to reveal its secrets from the time when Sofia was Roman Serdica. A triangular stone tower dating back to the end of the 2nd century was discovered by young archaeologists Dr. Filip Petrunov and..
+359 2 9336 661