Exactly a year ago, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church established a new holiday in the church calendar - the Glorification of the holy relics of Saint Euthymius, Patriarch of Tarnovo. According to church sources, the last Bulgarian patriarch before the fall of Tarnovgrad under the raids of the Ottoman conquerors in 1393, died around 1404. Five centuries later, at the end of 1905, during works in the narthex of the church in the Bachkovo Monastery, carried out on the initiative of abbot Paisiy, two graves were discovered. In one of the graves the remains of a bishop's mantle, a large omophorion and two epitrachelions were found, while in the other grave there were relics and a rolled lead sheet with an inscription reading that these are the relics of Saint Euthymius, Patriarch of Tarnovo.
After the discovery, the Holy Synod appointed a commission to investigate the facts and document the find. Miracles were also described, namely the pleasant fragrance that emanated from the holy relics. Despite the testimonies, the former abbot of the monastery Theodosius, doubted their credibility, describing the history of the Bachkovo Monastery and its destruction by the Ottomans during the conquest of the Rhodopes. This was followed by a rebuttal by Prof. Vasil Zlatarski, who participated in the fact-checking commission appointed by the Synod, and in 1911 Bogdan Filov, director of the National Museum in Sofia and Yordan Ivanov initiated a new commission to the Synod. The latter found historical inconsistencies and cast serious doubt on the authenticity of the lead scroll found in the grave with the relics.
In order to put an end to the disputes and above all to pay respect to the last head of the Tarnovo Patriarchate, 120 later the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church established the day of Glorification of the holy relics of Saint Euthymius, Patriarch of Tarnovo, who is regarded as patron saint of the entire Bulgarian people.
Publication in English: Al. Markov
Photos: dveri.bg, BGNES
On October 26, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church marks the Day of Great Martyr St. Demetrius of Thessaloniki, considered one of the greatest saints. In Bulgaria, his name is also associated with the restoration of the Second Bulgarian..
They call Nikopol “the town of ages” because its history goes back thousands of years. It was founded as a settlement in the year 169 during the reign of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. In 629, theByzantine Emperor renamed the town to Nicopolis, meaning..
There are rumours and speculations that some forgeries, so good that they are not inferior to the originals, could be found among the exhibits in the museums, but at the moment a whole series of forgeries can be seen at an exhibition..
The Patriarchal Cathedral of St Alexander Nevsky is celebrating its temple feast today. The cathedral, a symbol of the Bulgarian capital, was built "in..
On November 24, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church honors St. Catherine (Sveta Ekaterina in Bulgarian) , who was one of the most educated women of her time...
Partly Cloudy