The veneration of Holy relics in Bulgaria Dimitar Alexeev Dimitrov, 2011 Excerpts of the article published in Bulgarian in Usuri

i Magazine vol. 83 April 2011, p. 52-57 On the 28th of july 2010 during the archaeological research on the St. John island near Sozopol the team led by prof. Kazimir Popconstantinov made a discovery with global value. In the stone pavement of Early Christian church from 5th c. a marble reliquary was found with inscription in greek saying: The Gods slave Thomas brought on the 24 june (birthday of St. John the Baptist) Holy relics of St. John. The reliquary contains small bones of St. John the Baptist the man who baptized our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in the river Jordan. The Holy relics were brought in 5th c. by a local bishop from Constantinopol where the head and the arm of St. John were held at that time. They were ritualy buried under the main stone of the new church on the island. For several days the world media spread the news of the founding with information about Bulgaria and its Early Christian history. Sozopol is on the way to develope into a huge pylgrimage tourism center. The prime-minister of Bulgaria Boyko Borisov ordered a special silver box for the Relics and it were placed for veneration in the Sozopol church St. George. Also in the church a piece of the True Cross can be seen and the relics of Apostle Andrew who established the local church in 55 AD. The latin word reliquae means body remains or an object which belong to some Early Christian functionary or martyr. The veneration of Holy relics were established in 4th-5th c. when it became a practice for them to be buried under the altar space of each and every church building. Other Holy relics are spread in the churches of Bulgarias southern Black sea coast like the ones in St. John of Rila church in Ravadinovo brought from the monastery of the saint with the same name. Small part from the True cross is now in the church of Chernomoretz and in St. Theodore Tyron church in military base near Atyia are preserved remains of St. Theodore. The earliest example of veneration of Holy relics in mediaeval Bulgarian Kingdom was the movement of the body of the most beloved saint at that time St. John of Rila. It was transported after the saints death with huge people

adorations from his holy abode in Rila monastery to the city of Sredetz (+946 AD) by the order of King Peter (927-969). Another Bulgarian king who gave such order was King Samuel on which behalf the Holy remains of St. Achilles were moved from the conquered city of Larisa to the home town of the king Prespa and placed in the church which bears the name of the saint in 986. The Eastern Roman (Byzantine) chronist John Scylitzae wrote about the miraculous healing of Emperor Manuil I Komnin (1143-1180) in result of his adoration of the remains of St. John of Rila kept in the city of Sredetz (Sofia). In 1183 the hungarian king Bella III conquered Sredetz and took the precious remains of the Bulgarian saint in his capital Estergom but the local catholic bishop said that he never heard of a saint with that name. St. John of Rila punished the bishop with loss of speech until he felt sorry for his words. When the hungarians saw that supernatural event they brought the Holy remains of St. John back to Bulgaria. In 1194 Bulgarian King Asen gave order for transfer of the remains of St. John from Sredetz to the new capital of the re-established Bulgrian Kingdom Kings town Turnovo for heavenly protection over the city. Since 1469 AD the Holy remains were buried again in Rila monastery. In the beginning of 13th c. the Fourty Martyrs church in Turnovo became the very heart of the Orthodox state and oecumene because of the many Holy relics kept in the temple. From the history of St. Savas life and miracles is known the case of miraculous healing of a monk who slept near the remains of the saint, buried in the church. From several years the Fourty Martyrs church is developed as Pantheon of the Bulgarian rulers. The great Patriarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox church Evtimii Of Turnovo wrote in his work The Life of St. Philoteya Temnishka on the occasion of the transportation of her remains in Turnovo by King Kaloyan how the brave knight of the king named Theodor, who led the escort was healed just by touching the coffin of the saint. Many years before the establishment of the First Bulgarian Kingdom on Lower Danube in 681 AD in these lands Holy relics were venerated. On the beautiful Janavar hill near city of Varna stand the ruins of a 5th century Early Christian church with architectural plan which reminds of the Ealry churches in the Holy land. In front of its altar an unique reliquary was found. It consists of three boxes placed one inside another. The biggest one is

made of marble and the second one of silver. The third box which stood inside the silver one was made of gold and was decorated with gemstones. The Early Christian monuments (4th-6th c.) in the region of Varna are explored by Alexander Minchev form the Archaeological museum of Varna. He is also the author of the only one full catalogue of the Early Christian reliquaries, found in Bulgaria. He had the fortune to find a double reliquary in other 4th-5th century church on Han Krum street in the center of Varna. The rest of the reliquaries from the period were found in the ruins of the Roman settlement Abritus near Razgrad, in Pomorie, Devnia and Obzor; in the Episcopal complex of the city on Danube river Novae near Svishtov; near the villages of Prekolnica, Cabyle, Yabulkovo, Hissarya, Shkorpilovtzi, Osenovo and Goren Bliznak, Ovcharovo, Oreshe, Eleshnitza, Hurletz and beneath the altar of the St. Sofia church near Sofia. One of the most interesting examples is the reliquary found near village Perivol in 1931. There is a latin text on its outter walls which states that the box preserves the Holy remains of Apostle Thomas. Holy relics of several saints are exposed in the churches of the capital city of Sofia. The Patriarchs Cathedral St Alexander Nevsky received the remains of St. Alexander in occasion of its anniversary in 2001. The remains of St. Apostle Andrew are stored in church with the same name. They were given to this temple by the metropolyth of Patra in 2001. Small part of them were sent in the church of St. Anasthasia island which St. Andrew visited himself. In the St. Nedelya church are preserved the relics of famous king of Serbia Stefan Urosh II Milutin (1282-1321), and they stayed untouched by the communist bomb attack over the church in april 1925. In Transfiguration of Christ church in Lozenetz are stored the remains of St. Barbara. They were twice stolen and both times the thiefs brought them back by themselves. One of the most venerated remains of a holy man in Sofia are of the russian archbishop Seraphim (Sobolev). They are placed in marble coffin in the basement of the Russian church St. Nicholas. In mediaeval fortress of Perperikon near Kurdjali were found relics form unknown 4th century martyr. They were incorporated in 5th century reliquarycross and stored in the monastery Dormition of Theotokos church.

In the St. George church in the city of Rousse since 2006 are preserved remains of the warrior martyr. In the church of Holy Ghost in Asenovgrad are preserved the remains of St. Cyprian. St. Constantine and Helen church in the resort with the same name is one of the three places in the world where are held the remains of St. Valentine. The Forest of the Cross is one of the most popular places for pylgrimage and its there that a part of the True Cross lies buried and gives magical healing of the visitors. Dimitar Dimitrov