National Enlighteners’ Day has grown especially popular over the past ten years or so. It was marked for the first time 105 years ago in Plovdiv in tribute to the visionaries in Bulgarian history. Until that time on that same date (October 19 Old Style) Eastern Orthodoxy revered the memory of St. Yoan of Rila, (876-946) the celestial patron of Bulgaria and the Bulgarian people. The miracle-worker from Rila, as he is known, has lived on in the collective memory of the people as a paragon of profound faith and a dedicated teacher and spiritual leader. This reverence survived through the centuries of Ottoman domination and all 18^th and 19^th century clerics, educators, enlighteners and revolutionaries were regarded as his successors.

At the initiative of a group of intellectuals, in 1922, the Stamboliiski government declared November 1 National Enlighteners’ Day. The official document reads that this is “a day when we pay tribute to the memory of the great Bulgarians from times distant or more recent who built latter-day Bulgaria”.

In 1945 Enlighteners’ Day was abolished, to be reinstated in 1992 after being prohibited by the socialist authorities for close to 50 years. This explains why different generations have a different idea of it. To the oldest generation it brings back warm memories of school and an unforgettable childhood. To the people who grew up in the years of totalitarianism it is connected with the democratic changes that set in after 1989. Children and young people of today, who are so keen on dressing up for Halloween and exchanging heart-shaped gifts on St. Valentine ’s Day are also aware that it is something that sets us apart from the rest of the world giving meaning to words like “Bulgarian spiritual values and culture.

Every year on this day we go back to the important role played by Bulgarian National Revival figures such as Paisiy of Hilendar, Sofroniy of Vratsa, Neofit Bozveli, Ilarion Makariopolski, Georgi Rakovski, Vassil Levski, Hristo Botev, Stefan Karadja, Hadji Dimitar, the brothers Dimitar and Konstantin Miladinov, Lyuben Karavelov, Dobri Chintoulov. Many are the names on the list of people who knew that enlightenment is the sine qua non in the fight for ecclesiastical and national independence. It would not be possible to tell you about them all, so we have chosen to go back to the biography of one of them – Neofit of Rila, a man of God who has come to be known as the patriarch of modern Bulgarian education. Born in Bansko to a wealthy family of tradesmen, at the age of 19 he was ordained as a monk in Rila monastery. He continued his education and wrote books of grammar and mathematics. Today his home, turned into a museum is visited by thousands. Svetla Baryakova, historian and director of the museums in Bansko says there are many young Bulgarians who come especially to see it and get a sense of the spirit of the times.

“Neofit of Rila’s secular name is Nikola Poppetrov Benin,” Svetla Baryakova says. “His home was turned into a museum in 1981 to mark the centenary of his death. The former outbuildings now house an exposition illustrating the wide array of his work, his literary heritage and everything connected with his enormous contribution to national education. The reconstruction of the house as it once stood illustrates the way he spent his childhood years but what visitors from abroad find particularly interesting is the school his father, priest Petar Benin ran in his home. It was the school his own son attended. At that time, all educated people, usually artisans, merchants or priests, would teach children to read and write. They would set aside a room in their home or workshop where they would have sand boxes, rugs etc. They would do their job and, from time to time, check on what the children were doing. They didn’t have books then but would write in the sand which they would then smooth out using a stick. Later the sand was replaced by slates. People visiting the museum are invariably astounded by the cult of education existing in Bulgaria during the Middle Ages and the National revival. Nowhere else would people sell fields or farm animals to educate their children. That is the reason why even at the time of the National Revival, the standard of education in this country was very high. The efforts in the sphere of education were no less important than the fight for an independent church or for national liberation during the times of Ottoman rule.”

English version: Milena Daynova