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

Orthodox Christians in Bulgaria and the world celebrate Christmas

Bulgarian Partriarch Daniil
Photo: BTA

The Bulgarian Orthodox Church celebrates Christmas with solemn services. The festive services began on Christmas Eve, when the church held a solemn vigil. 

Hundreds of laypeople gathered at the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia, where the Bulgarian Patriarch Daniil served his first solemn service. 

"Let Christmas be the beginning of a profound, gracious change in our way of thinking and living, in our relationships with God and our neighbors," the head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church said in his official address.

The festive Christmas service begins at 9:30 a.m. and will be broadcast live on the BNR's Horizon program. Today's Gospel readings in churches also tell about the birth of Jesus Christ. 

On December 25, Hristo, Hristina, Radoslav, Radostin, Bozhidar, Emil, and Emmanuil have their name days.



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

It is the Day of the Holy Cross

On September 14, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church bows down before the cross on which Jesus Christ was crucified . The Exaltation of the Holy Cross of the Lord or Cross Day is one of the 12 great Christian holidays.  It is one of the four days..

published on 9/14/25 6:05 AM

September 22, 1908: Bulgaria Breaks Free from Ottoman Rule

On September 22, 1908, Prince Ferdinand I proclaimed Bulgaria’s independence in a manifesto, formally establishing the Third Bulgarian Kingdom. The location was chosen with care: the Church of the Forty Martyrs in the old capital, Veliko Tarnovo,..

published on 9/11/25 10:19 PM

Bulgaria celebrates the 140th anniversary of the Unification of the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia

Today, Bulgaria celebrates the 140th anniversary of the Unification of the Principality of Bulgaria and Eastern Rumelia. The center of the festivities is Plovdiv, where on this day in 1885, after the entry of the Golyamo Konare detachment into the..

published on 9/6/25 10:45 AM