The bright Christian holiday of the Annunciation, which we celebrate every year on March 25, is among the favorite spring holidays for the entire Christian world. Through the Virgin Mary, chosen as the purest among the virgins, motherhood becomes blessed by God and thus the significance of the woman as the creator of life is emphasized. In the Orthodox Christian world, it is celebrated as mother's day, but also as a symbol of the gospel, charity and the new spiritual beginning that restores the relationship with God. ‎

It is this spiritual connection that preserved the Bulgarians during the years of the five-century Ottoman yoke and gave them the strength to zealously guard their faith and build temples. Among these testimonies of love for God is the church of St. Nicholas in the village of Dolen, built stone by stone at night, so as not to provoke the anger of the Turkish authorities. Because of its authentic frescoes, the church has been declared a cultural monument. It is also the oldest in the Pirin region, but has unfortunately been abandoned for decades, like many churches in Bulgaria’s numerous deserted villages.

By lucky chance or by God's providence, during an international mountain hike in Pirin four years ago, the church covered in weeds attracted the attention of volunteers from the Association "Creation 2012", led by Zhana Ivanova, known for her campaigns in support of children's hospitals and medical institutions. With the first donations from the multinational group, a restoration project was made, and on the eve of the Annunciation this year, it became clear that the restoration of the frescoes will begin this summer. ‎

The donation campaign is also joined by the Bulgarian Chapel Choir "Georgi ‎Robev" led by Neli Trosheva, who happily embraces the idea:‎

"What could be better than having a church from this period,  so beautiful and unfortunately neglected, restored with this beautiful initiative. When we were closed for the pandemic and I was looking on the Internet and Facebook, I suddenly came across Zhana Ivanova's initiative for the restoration of the church. When I introduced the choristers to the idea of singing in charity for the church in the village of Dolen, it suddenly turned out that they knew about it and gladly agreed to participate in the initiative."‎

Among the donors in the campaign is the young architect Ivaylo Lambev, for whom the only way to stop the destruction is the spirituality that is in us, but we don't pay attention to it. More and more Bulgarians feel the need to be united around one idea, around a sense of belonging. And what would unite people are common values, Ivaylo believes:

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"When one follows values and virtues that have been clear for thousands of years, many problems will be solved. At least a person will not live only for himself, but also for others. On the one hand, it is a very good quality of Bulgarians to survive, but they seem to be immersed only in this and forget about everything else. Unfortunately, this can be seen everywhere in Bulgarian society and there is destruction all around."‎

And perhaps, on the eve of the Annunciation, the time has come for a change, to revive spiritual values, to re-sow the seed of spirituality, which is our salvation. "When you love Bulgaria, you can be anywhere and do anything, yet still do things for your family and roots, for Bulgaria," notes the opera singer Hari Draganov, a descendant of the Bogoridi family from the National Reviva period. The bass baritone has been a soloist of the Geneva Opera for 24 years and glorifies Bulgaria around the world. He learned about the charitable idea of "Creation 2012" by chance and immediately decided to get involved:‎

‎"No matter how little we do for the spirituality of Bulgaria, it is already incredibly important, because in my opinion, in the modern world, we are losing our Bulgarian spirituality and all my work as a professional, as well as the projects I do are aimed at the development of spirituality in Bulgaria. Therefore, such initiatives are welcome for me. ‎

For Bilyana Hristova, an entrepreneur and volunteer for the initiative of the "Creation 2012" association, being part of this team is a matter of personal choice and a personal path, suggested by the heart: ‎

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"When we were on this hike, at the meeting with the church itself, somehow I felt that this is a cause that I want to support. There is memory, there is spirituality, there is culture and everything that Bulgarians carry inside themselves and which I sometimes forget. This, in my opinion, is also the reason why a part of the churches in Bulgaria are in this condition. ‎

If we have them today, they were the starting point for someone else back in time to create. It is our goal to preserve these holy places, which will remain after us, so that the next generations can build on top of them and so Bulgaria can have a future."‎