High above the road near the village of Krepcha in the region of the town of Targovishte, one can stop and see a rock-‎hewn monastery. Founded in the 9th-10th century, it is one of the earliest rock ‎dwellings on the territory of Bulgaria. It was discovered by the father of Bulgarian ‎archeology Karel Škorpil at the beginning of the 20th century, but to this day ‎some of its secrets remain veiled in mystery. ‎

They are in Cyrillic and are about 20 in number. Among them, however, there is ‎also one in the ancient Hebrew language - a mystery that still raises discussions in ‎scientific circles. And the most amazing find is an old inscription at the entrance ‎to the rock church. It was discovered in the early 1970s and reads: "In the year ‎‎921, the servant of God Anton died in the month of October." 

‎“This monastery was founded by a monk named Antony or Anton. We ‎understand this from two of the inscriptions in the monastery. He created it at the ‎end of the 9th and the beginning of the 10th century, and a brotherhood of ‎between 5 and 10 monks was formed around him. Antony died in 921. This is ‎reflected in one of the inscriptions, which is the earliest dated Cyrillic inscription ‎found to date. You know that about 250 million people around the world use the ‎Cyrillic alphabet. And we have no earlier inscription than the date 921! This ‎means that the monk Anthony died 25 years before the death of St. Ivan Rilski ‎and 6 years before that of Tsar Simeon, from which it can be concluded that he ‎was their contemporary. So the inscription from Krepcha awakens a discussion ‎about when monasticism actually began in Bulgarian lands and who was its ‎founder," says Miroslav Georgiev.‎

In front of the entrance to the church-tomb, at a height of 8 meters, the researchers ‎came across another amazing find - a relatively well-preserved 5-line inscription. ‎The following is written in very well-carved letters between 2 and 3 cm in size on ‎the stone: "In the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Saint ‎Father Anthony † rests here. And whoever made a granary in the church, let him ‎answer before God. The unworthy Michael wrote this. Amen."

The interesting ‎thing is that Antony is called 'holy' in the inscription. It is possible that, after his ‎death, he was declared a saint, claims Miroslav Georgiev.

The inscription in the church-tomb also reveals a curious historical detail. It is ‎about the oath contained in it: And whoever makes a granary in the church, let ‎him answer before God. "There is no other similar document in Bulgarian ‎epigraphy," claims Miroslav Georgiev and adds:‎

‎"This warning oath may have been directed against monks who allowed ‎themselves to use the premises of the monasteries or this particular monastery for ‎economic purposes rather than for worship or ecclesiastical activity. There is ‎another theory. During the period when Tsar Simeon was waging wars in Thrace, ‎there are known testimonies that state that he ordered the grain to feed his army to ‎be stored in churches or similar rock abodes," explains historian Miroslav ‎Georgiev.‎