On 18 August the Bulgarian Orthodox church marks the Assumption of St. John (Yoan) of Rila, the most revered Bulgarian saint, protector of Bulgaria, also called the miracle-worker of Rila. John of Rila is one of the most prominent figures of the Middle Ages having influenced the entire Christian Orthodox world.
Born in 876 in Skrino village in the foothills of Mount Osogovo, he lived in the time of Prince Boris, his sons Vladimir and Tsar Simeon the Great, and his son Tsar Peter. This period is known as the Golden Age, when Christianity became an official religion for Bulgarians, a period of flourishment of Bulgarian culture and literature.
While still a young man, John, who longed to devote his life to God, left the village where he was born and entered a monastery. Once he became a monk he left the monastery in search of solitude in Mount Rila. There, he founded Rila Monastery, and spend his life in prayer and solitude.
He died in 946 and is buried in the small monastery church of Rila Monastery.
Elena is the wife of Father Ivan Karageorgiev, a Bulgarian Orthodox priest based in Paris. She has lived in the French capital since 2010. Elena grew up in a church-going family, and two of her brothers are priests. She studied iconography at St..
The Troyan Monastery "Dormition of the Mother of God" will donate relics of the patron saints of the town—St. Paraskeva-Petka and St. Panteleimon the Great Martyr—to the St. Paraskeva Petka Church in Troyan , Archimandrite Stefan, deputy abbot of the..
Today, June 7, is one of the special days in the liturgical year, in which we offer prayers for forgiveness of sins and repose of the souls of our deceased loved ones. In the calendar of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, All..
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