ПРОГРАМИ
en de ru fr es sr gr al tr ro
Podcast in English
Share
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Water blessing of the battle flags to take place across Bulgaria on Epiphany

Photo: BTA

A traditional water blessing of the battle flags and holy flags of the Bulgarian Army will be held on January 6 in all the country's garrisons. The ceremonial ritual in Sofia will take place at 11:00 a.m. in front of the Unknown Warrior Monument in the presence of Defense Minister Todor Tagarev.

For the first time, a water blessing ceremony of the banners was celebrated during the time of Tsar Simeon I before the battle of Acheloi in 917. Until the fall of Bulgaria under the Ottoman rule, a water blessing of the flags was performed before every battle fought by the Bulgarian army. After the Liberation in 1878, the tradition was restored by the first military minister of the Principality of Bulgaria, Piotr Dmitrievich Parensov, and continued until 1946, according to the Ministry of Defense. 

After the collapse of the Communist rule, the ritual was restored in 1993. 

Since then, every year on Epiphany, in all garrisons, the highest representative of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in the diocese reads a prayer for health and success, together with the consecration of the battle flags.

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.
Radio Bulgaria News    battle flags Epiphany water blessing

More from category

The government amends the regulation on the conditions and procedure for issuing visas

The Council of Ministers adopted a decree amending and supplementing the 2011 regulation on the conditions and procedure for issuing visas and determining the visa regime. It synchronizes the legal framework with the requirements of the Schengen..

published on 1/8/25 3:09 PM

Democratic Bulgaria: The nomination for prime minister should be discussed at a leaders' meeting

Democratic Bulgaria stated in a message to the media that the nominations for prime minister and the composition of the Council of Ministers should be discussed at a leaders' meeting and after reaching a final agreement on the governance pact...

published on 1/8/25 2:14 PM

According to a parliamentary source, government talks have been renewed

GERB-SDF, Democratic Bulgaria (DB), the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) and There Is Such a People (ITN) are resuming intensive talks to form a government. This was decided by a parliamentary presidential council, BNT reported.  According to..

published on 1/8/25 11:01 AM

WEATHER
Pick city: Sofía
Cloudy
Min: 4 | Max: 13
Cloudy
Min: 9 | Max: 15
Partly Cloudy
Min: 10 | Max: 17
Cloudy
Min: -1 | Max: 9
Partly Cloudy
Min: 13 | Max: 17
Partly Cloudy
Min: 2 | Max: 18
Partly Cloudy
Min: 2 | Max: 16
Partly Cloudy
Min: 3 | Max: 16
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 5 | Max: 16
Cloudy
Min: -2 | Max: 12
Partly Cloudy
Min: 5 | Max: 17
Partly Cloudy
Min: 5 | Max: 14
Cloudy
Min: -1 | Max: 8
Partly Cloudy
Min: -1 | Max: 12
Partly Cloudy
Min: 7 | Max: 15
Cloudy
Min: -3 | Max: 8
Partly Cloudy
Min: 8 | Max: 16
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 6 | Max: 16
Partly Cloudy
Min: 7 | Max: 17
Cloudy
Min: 2 | Max: 13
Clear
Min: 1 | Max: 14
Partly Cloudy
Min: 2 | Max: 12
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 5 | Max: 12
Partly Cloudy
Min: 3 | Max: 15
Mostly Cloudy
Min: 1 | Max: 12
Partly Cloudy
Min: 3 | Max: 16
Cloudy
Min: 2 | Max: 15
BULGARIA IN PICTURES
Which world-famous Bulgarian artist designed QSL cards for Radio Bulgaria?
Yasen Gyuzelev
Theodore Ushev
Christo Javacheff - Christo
Ilia Peikov
Lika Yanko

BULGARIANS ABROAD

Български English Русский Deutsch Српски Français Ελληνικά Español Shqip Türkçe Română
MOST VIEWED

The UK to introduce electronic travel authorisation for EU citizens as of April 2

From 2 April 2025, the UK will introduce the issuance of an electronic transit and short-term residence permit for citizens of all EU countries ,..

published on 1/8/25 9:28 AM

Flu epidemic in Bulgaria to reach peak in early February

The metapneumovirus is not new and does not lead to severe illnesses. There is already a decrease in morbidity in China and there are no deaths there,..

published on 1/8/25 10:12 AM

Bulgaria and Ukraine have agreed on their relations in education until 2028

A protocol for cooperation and exchange between the Ministries of Education and Science in Bulgaria and Ukraine for 4 academic years until 2028 was..

published on 1/8/25 9:07 AM

english@bnr.bg

+359 2 9336 661

Общи условия за използване на сайта | Политика за поверителност | Политика за "бисквитки"