Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

In Bulgaria: Orthodox Church celebrates Palm Sunday, Catholics and Armenians - Easter

Patriarch Neophyte also attended the solemn liturgy at St. Alexander Nevsky Church, April 9, 2023.
Photo: BGNES

Holy Mass was held in the Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky in Sofia on the occasion of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem. "May the peace and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all!" wished Patriarch Neophyte, who was present at the service. Palm Sunday is also known as Tsvetnitsa (from tsvete - flower) or Vrabnitsa (from varba - willow tree) in Bulgaria, where palm leaves are replaced with willow branches. Tomorrow begins Holy Week, the week of Christ's passion, crucifixion and resurrection.

Thousands gathered in the central Bulgarian town of Lovech, where there is a traditional crafts fair and a national festival of folk art and customs, BNR correspondent Plamen Hristov reports.

In the southeastern village of General Inzovo over 300 folklore lovers gathered today at the festival "From Palm Sunday to St. George's Day". The festival presents folk songs, dances, rituals and customs observed between the two major holidays, as our correspondent Daniela Kostova informs.

Catholics in Bulgaria celebrate Easter today. The faithful filled the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the town of Rakovski, home to the largest Catholic community in Bulgaria. 

Armenians are also celebrating Easter. In Silistra, however, they will celebrate it a week later in the oldest Armenian temple in Bulgaria, the 1620 St. Mary's Church, when a priest from Ruse will come to celebrate mass. Since the 1960s, the Armenians in Silistra have not had their own clergyman, BNR correspondent Nezabravka Kirova said. 



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Raya Nazryan

National Assembly Speaker to convene extraordinary parliamentary session if one fifth of the MPs request it

The Speaker of the National Assembly, Raya Nazaryan, would convene an extraordinary session if one-fifth of the MPs proposed specific topics and points of discussion. In Kyustendil, where she is a guest of the Fertility..

published on 9/28/24 3:24 PM

Statistics show Bulgarians live in good health longer than the average level in Europe

Bulgarians live in good health longer than most citizens of the European Union, according to Eurostat data. This country is more than 4 years ahead of the average levels in the EU at the backdrop of having the lowest life expectancy..

published on 9/28/24 3:05 PM
Lyudmila Petkova

Bulgaria risks losing 1 billion euros under the Recovery and Resilience Plan

This country may lose over a billion euros of European funding due to unadopted changes to the Recovery and Resilience Plan, the new chapter to it and the updated road map for climate neutrality, which were not accepted by the..

published on 9/28/24 12:53 PM