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

A new temple near Sandanski bears the names of Saints Anthony and Athanasius the Great

Photo: BTA

The only chapel in the country to bear the names of Saints Anthony and Athanasius is in Sandanski, and its consecration will be performed by His Eminence Metropolitan Seraphim of Nevrokop, reports Andon Kotev - one of the initiators of the idea to build the temple.

Kotev told BTA that there used to be an old temple on the site of the chapel, which also bore the names of the two saints. In October 2000, the place where the new chapel would be built was marked with a plaque and a cross. The construction was financed by the family of Andon Kotev, with the support of Violeta Atanasova and Father Georgi Saradinov. The idea of building the chapel of St Anthony and St Athanasius the Great drew other donors.

Today the temple is completely finished and attracts more and more Christians. It is frescoed in the Bulgarian style and the names of the saints on the icons are also written in Bulgarian.



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 Matey Preobrazhenski-Mitkaloto  (1828–1875)

What we don’t know about Matey Preobrazhenski’s inventions

Though known mostly as one of the closest associates of Vasil Levski   and a dedicated fighter for national liberation, there was actually much more to Father Matey Preobrazhenski (1828–1875) than his revolutionary efforts. Little is known about..

published on 7/12/25 11:20 AM

A new guidebook presents pilgrimage tourism routes in Bulgaria

A guidebook to the major Christian pilgrimage routes in the country was presented during the first national conference dedicated to pilgrimage tourism in Bulgaria, attended by Minister of Tourism Miroslav Borshosh, Metropolitan Anthony of Western and..

published on 6/27/25 10:50 AM

Bulgarians' traditional costumes from the Romanian village of Băleni-Sârbi featured in an ethnographic catalogue

An album showcasing traditional folk costumes from the seven regions of the Wallachia area in Romania was presented at the Giurgiu County Museum. The catalogue, titled Ethnographic Collection of the “Teohari Antonescu” Museum in Giurgiu – Folk..

published on 6/26/25 5:10 PM