Prayer served by His Holiness Bulgarian Patriarch Daniil on February 22, marks the beginning of the celebrations for the consecration of the new church "St. John of Rila" of the Bulgarian Orthodox community in London. For the Bulgarian compatriots in the United Kingdom, the event is a great spiritual joy and a cherished dream come true.

For 35 years Bulgarians in London have not stopped hoping that one day they will have their own church. Far from their homeland, the thirst for communication with fellow believers who are close in spirit and affiliation is particularly strong. And the Church is the one that brings them closer and unites them. In the church, they trust each other more easily, help each other, as they are gathered in the name of common values.

• The Bulgarian church of Saint Ivan Rilski opens in London on February 22

"For us, this project was a dream of two or three generations of Bulgarians who are on the island. And now we can congratulate ourselves that we have a Bulgarian church in London and for us this is extremely important," priest Dobromir Dimitrov, head of the church said in an interview with the Bulgarian National Radio.

"Many people helped, so let's also mention the Bulgarian state, which apparently in the past ten years has recognized the Church as its collaborator and believes that there is a need for such churches in Western Europe. It helps and I hope it will help more and more. We are representatives of the Bulgarian people, because the Bulgarian Church is an inseparable part of the Bulgarian people and for me it is very important for Bulgarians to have their own identity. When we are abroad, we lose our identity and at some point we start asking ourselves questions about who we are. Some reach to folk dances or recipes, on a household level, but we have a deeper identity, which is spiritual. I know that we should be here and take care of our compatriots. We have many young people who were born here and are looking for the Orthodox Church as part of their families, as something that is real and should help them in life. Unfortunately, we have experience with young people who have gone through different religions, even sects. And when they come to us, we try to help them discover this treasure trove of Orthodox Christianity and our people. And they actually discover both Christianity and their culture."

• Government to provide funds to complete reconstruction of Bulgarian Orthodox Church in London

The construction of the church "St. John of Rila" is on the site of the previous small chapel, the Bulgarian Patriarchate notes on its website. The project for its separation as a church has received official approval from the Westminster City Council after the successful defense of the architectural plan. Its main goal is to create a church space by uniting the premises of the first and second floors in order to provide the necessary height for the construction of the traditional Orthodox dome. The reconstruction also includes the formation of a representative entrance to the central street, which facilitates access. An Italian architect was hired to implement the project and the Bulgarian state gradually allocated 3,300 000 BGN. The amount was supplemented by our compatriots on the Island, who managed to collect 1,500,000 BGN.

The style of the church is classical - in the tradition of the medieval Bulgarian churches in Pliska, Preslav, Serdika and Veliko Tarnovo. Priest Dobromir was involved in its icon painting:

"And I want to thank here the thousands of people who helped us with financial means, with personal labor and to many people who donated a lot of money - patriotic Bulgarians. Each one of them is valuable, even the ones who contributed with 1 £ to this project. Therefore, I thank everyone! The greatest merit goes to Metropolitan Anthony who took the construction of the Bulgarian church in London as his personal cause. He was actually the mediator between the Church and the state and he made sure that all obstacles were overcome."

Read also:

• Metropolitan Anthony on Orthodoxy as a Spiritual Bridge Between Cultures

• "BG Ben" – the publication of Bulgarians in the UK celebrates 20 years

Publication in English: Al. Markov

Photos: Bulgarian Orthodox Church bgben.co.uk, dobrotoliubie.com