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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. 



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