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

In Bulgaria: Orthodox Church celebrates Palm Sunday, Catholics and Armenians - Easter

Patriarch Neophyte also attended the solemn liturgy at St. Alexander Nevsky Church, April 9, 2023.
Photo: BGNES

Holy Mass was held in the Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky in Sofia on the occasion of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem. "May the peace and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all!" wished Patriarch Neophyte, who was present at the service. Palm Sunday is also known as Tsvetnitsa (from tsvete - flower) or Vrabnitsa (from varba - willow tree) in Bulgaria, where palm leaves are replaced with willow branches. Tomorrow begins Holy Week, the week of Christ's passion, crucifixion and resurrection.

Thousands gathered in the central Bulgarian town of Lovech, where there is a traditional crafts fair and a national festival of folk art and customs, BNR correspondent Plamen Hristov reports.

In the southeastern village of General Inzovo over 300 folklore lovers gathered today at the festival "From Palm Sunday to St. George's Day". The festival presents folk songs, dances, rituals and customs observed between the two major holidays, as our correspondent Daniela Kostova informs.

Catholics in Bulgaria celebrate Easter today. The faithful filled the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the town of Rakovski, home to the largest Catholic community in Bulgaria. 

Armenians are also celebrating Easter. In Silistra, however, they will celebrate it a week later in the oldest Armenian temple in Bulgaria, the 1620 St. Mary's Church, when a priest from Ruse will come to celebrate mass. Since the 1960s, the Armenians in Silistra have not had their own clergyman, BNR correspondent Nezabravka Kirova said. 



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

Cooler weather expected on Friday

During the night, the weather will be mostly clear with a light southerly wind. A cold atmospheric front will pass over the country on Friday. Winds will shift from the west-northwest and will strengthen. Cumulonimbus clouds will develop in..

published on 8/21/25 6:40 PM
Ivan Ivanov

More than 260,000 people in Bulgaria suffer from disrupted water supply

As of August 18, a total of 260 868 people, 16 cities and 283 villages have been affected by disrupted water supply, Minister of Regional Development Ivan Ivanov announced at an extraordinary meeting of a parliamentary committee that is discussing a..

published on 8/21/25 5:16 PM
Manol Genov

Manol Genov: We cannot speak of a critical water shortage

Currently, we cannot speak of a critical water shortage regarding drinking and domestic water supply, Minister of Environment and Water Manol Genov said at an extraordinary meeting of the Parliamentary Committee on Environment and Water discussing a..

published on 8/21/25 4:26 PM