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

Water blessing of the battle flags to take place across Bulgaria on Epiphany

Photo: BTA

A traditional water blessing of the battle flags and holy flags of the Bulgarian Army will be held on January 6 in all the country's garrisons. The ceremonial ritual in Sofia will take place at 11:00 a.m. in front of the Unknown Warrior Monument in the presence of Defense Minister Todor Tagarev.

For the first time, a water blessing ceremony of the banners was celebrated during the time of Tsar Simeon I before the battle of Acheloi in 917. Until the fall of Bulgaria under the Ottoman rule, a water blessing of the flags was performed before every battle fought by the Bulgarian army. After the Liberation in 1878, the tradition was restored by the first military minister of the Principality of Bulgaria, Piotr Dmitrievich Parensov, and continued until 1946, according to the Ministry of Defense. 

After the collapse of the Communist rule, the ritual was restored in 1993. 

Since then, every year on Epiphany, in all garrisons, the highest representative of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in the diocese reads a prayer for health and success, together with the consecration of the battle flags.



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

The weather remains mostly cloudy and rainy, but with no precipitation in the southwestern regions

On Friday , the lowest temperatures will be between 5 and 10°C; in Sofia - it will be around 6°C. During the day it will be cloudy and with precipitation. In Northwestern Bulgaria the amounts will be significant. Almost no..

published on 11/6/25 7:50 PM
Iliana Iotova

Iliana Iotova: No one has reassured Bulgarians that there will be no fuel problems

''I am not surprised that the president’s veto concerning the sale of Lukoil’s assets was overturned, because even on such a delicate, serious and worrying issue, there were no arguments or discussion'', Vice President Iliana Iotova told journalists..

published on 11/6/25 5:54 PM
A press conference of the Bulgarian Association of Sterility and Reproductive Health

Birth rate in Bulgaria has decreased by 33% since 1994

Birth rate in Bulgaria has decreased by 33% over the past three decades. In 1994, 79,442 live births were registered in the country, while in 2024 the number dropped to 53,428. 6.5% of Bulgarian children are now born through in vitro fertilization..

published on 11/6/25 5:15 PM