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 ceremony of the Bulgarian Army Flags to take place on Epiphany

President Radev at the water blessing ceremony in central Sofia on Epiphany (archive)
Photo: president.bg

On January 6, the feast of Epiphany, the traditional water blessing of the battle flags and holy flags of the Bulgarian Army will be celebrated in all garrisons of the country. The solemn ritual in Sofia will begin at 11:00 in front of the Monument to the Unknown Soldier. 

The water blessing ceremony will be held by His Holiness the Bulgarian Patriarch and Metropolitan of Sofia Daniil. 

The ceremony will be attended by the Bulgarian President and Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Rumen Radev, who will accept the honorary formation of the representative units of the Bulgarian Army and lay a wreath in front of the Monument to the Unknown Soldier. Vice President Iliana Iotova, Minister of Defense Atanas Zapryanov and Chief of Defense Admiral Emil Eftimov will also be present.



For the first time, the blessing of the battle flags was performed during the reign of Tsar Simeon I before the Battle of Aheloy in 917. Until the fall of Bulgaria under Ottoman rule, the blessing of the flags was performed before every battle fought by the Bulgarian army. 

After the Liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman rule in 1878, the tradition was restored by the first military minister of the Principality of Bulgaria, Pyotr Dmitrievich Parensov, and continued until 1946, the Ministry of Defense indicates. After the fall of Communism in Bulgaria, the ritual was restored in 1993.

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 flags of the Bulgarian army water blessing of the Bulgarian military flags

More from category

No Bulgarians injured in Los Angeles fires

So far, the Consulate General of Bulgaria in Los Angeles has not received any information about Bulgarian citizens injured in the raging wildfires . This was what the Bulgarian diplomatic mission announced on its Facebook page..

published on 1/9/25 9:06 AM

Green ticket for public transport in Sofia for two days due to dirty air

After days of reported excess of fine dust particles in the air of Sofia, as a measure to solve the problem, the Sofia Municipality is introducing a green ticket worth 0.5 euros for using the public transport, as well as free parking in the metro..

published on 1/9/25 7:45 AM

Residents of Lom organize a car rally against the poor state of the roads in Northwestern Bulgaria

Several civil associations from the towns of Lom and Kozloduy are organizing a protest and a car rally today against the poor state of the roads in Northwestern Bulgaria, specifically the Lom-Kozloduy road, which is used daily by many people from Lom..

published on 1/9/25 6:15 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"