Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who is visiting Bulgaria, and Bulgarian Patriarch Daniil celebrated a solemn patriarchal divine liturgy at the main church of the Rila Monastery, attended by hundreds of worshippers. The service was held as part of the celebrations in honour of St John of Rila.
Traditionally, the divine liturgy is followed by a procession around the church carrying the icon of St John of Rila. Every year, the feast draws pilgrims from Bulgaria and abroad to the Rila Monastery to venerate the saint’s relics.
Solemn services at the Rila Monastery mark the monastery’s feast day and the day on which the Bulgarian Orthodox Church commemorates St John of Rila the Wonderworker, the heavenly patron of the Bulgarian people. On 19 October, the Church commemorates the transfer of the saint’s relics from Rila to Sredets (present-day Sofia). This year’s celebrations are particularly significant, marking 1,150 years since the birth and 1,080 years since the repose of St John of Rila the Wonderworker.
Edited by Diana Tsankova
Translated by Kostadin Atanasov