Every year on 21 November the church marks the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, one of the 12 Great Feasts of the year, celebrated by both the Eastern Orthodox and the Catholic Church.
By a decision of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church from 1929, the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is also celebrated in Bulgaria as the Day of the Christian Family. It coincides with the start of the Nativity Fast. On this day, at the end of church service in Eastern Orthodox houses of worship, believers receive Holy Communion.
Going to church as a family on this day symbolized the entry into the temple by 3-year old Mary, the future Mother of God. It is a reminder to parents of their spiritual obligations to their children. After returning from church the family gathers around the table which has always been a symbol of a strong family bond. The table is not cleared away so that when Virgin Mary comes during the night she will have something to eat and will bless the house.
Read more about the Day of the Christian Family here.
Today is Cheesefare Sunday. According to Orthodox tradition, this day is observed on the eve of Great Lent, when Christians seek and give forgiveness to each other . It is also known as Sirni Zagovezni because it marks the last day before Lent, when..
Priest Lyubomir Bratoev is a direct participant in the events of t he founding of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church community in Berlin . He came to the capital of East Germany in the late 1980s as a doctoral student. And, like a typical Orthodox Christian..
After nearly 35 years, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church Community in London has its own church in the central part of the British capital, in close proximity to the Bulgarian Embassy. There, in the prestigious Kensington district, next to Hyde Park and..
Pipes from the end of the 17 th , the 18 th and the 19 th century and the tradition of growing tobacco in Bulgaria are presented in the newest..
+359 2 9336 661