Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Orthodox Christians in Bulgaria mark the Dormition of St. John of Rila

Photo: BGNES

Orthodox Christians mark the Dormition of St. John of Rila, who is considered the heavenly protector of the Bulgarian people.

The saint was born in the village of Skrino in the Osogovo Mountain in the second half of the 9th century, when Christianity took root among the Bulgarian people. He spent his life in seclusion, fasting and prayer in various places but mostly in Rila Mountain.

In the monastery founded by him, he left a written testament with valuable advice to his followers. He was buried in the mountain next to the place of his seclusion and later his body was found to be incorruptible and placed in the Rila Monastery, where it is kept to this day.



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

Father Lyubomir Leontinow from Berlin: Closeness is measured by the heart, not by distance

Father Lyubomir Leontinow is one of three priests at the Cathedral of St Boris the Conqueror in Berlin and was the first priest ordained for the Western and Central European Diocese in 1994. After completing his theology studies in Bulgaria, he settled..

published on 3/9/25 7:30 AM

Great Lent begins

After Cheesefare (Forgiveness) Sunday, the Great Lent has begun on March 3. Orthodox Christians will abstain from eating animal food including meat, eggs, milk and dairy products. The Great Lent symbolizes the 40 days which Jesus spent in the..

published on 3/3/25 9:52 AM
Museum of  History in Batak

Batak is the symbol of history written in blood that must not be forgotten

Batak is a name every Bulgarian remembers with deference and pain because the fate of the small town in the Rhodopes is scarred by one of the bloodiest events in national memory – the Batak massacre. During the first days after the outbreak of..

published on 3/3/25 9:10 AM