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

The first Bulgarian Patriarch to be canonized

Photo: ilovebulgaria.eu

The Metropolitanate of Dorostol has proposed to the Holy Synod (highest authority in the Bulgarian Orthodox Church) that the first Bulgarian Patriarch Damian be canonized as a saint, Metropolitan Yakov said.

In 927, after the death of Tsar Simeon, his successor Tsar Peter made peace with the Byzantine Empire. The Bulgarian archdiocese was then proclaimed a patriarchate, and Damian was enthroned as the first Bulgarian patriarch, with his seat in Dorostol, or today's town of Silistra. It is believed that the grave discovered years ago in one of the basilicas of Silistra is that of Patriarch Damian.

Today, the remains of the cathedral church and the patriarchal palace are open to the public, but the tomb itself is closed in order to be conserved.



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

Some of the rock churches are open to tourists

The valley of the monks: The churches in the valley of Rusenski Lom and its tributaries

In Northeastern Bulgaria the river Rusenski Lom and its tributaries – Cherni, Beli and Malki Lom – have carved out a rugged rocky landscape with hidden caves and hushed valleys where the only sound is that of the birdsong. People have settled in..

published on 7/22/25 1:05 PM
Metropolitan Joseph, head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in the USA, Canada, and Australia

Metropolitan Joseph, blessed the new Parish Council of the Holy Trinity Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Madison

His Eminence Metropolitan Joseph, head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in the USA, Canada, and Australia, has blessed the newly elected Parish Council of the Holy Trinity Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Madison, Illinois. The new council was elected..

published on 7/21/25 3:11 PM
The monument at Petrova Niva in Strandzha in honor of the heroes of the Ilinden-Preobrazhensko Uprising

On the sacrifice and redemption in the Ilinden-Preobrazhenie Uprising

The revival of Bulgarian statehood after five centuries of Ottoman rule is connected with the April Uprising of 1876 and the Internal Revolutionary Organization previously created by Vasil Levski. After the Treaty of Berlin of 1878, the Bulgarians..

published on 7/20/25 9:43 AM