Christian Pilgrimage to Shipchenski Monastery in
Shipka (near Shipka Mountain Peak) / Shipka Battle Pass memoriam
Russian Church
For a short pilgrimage journey I went to Shipka. Shipchenski
Monastery is a mountaint monastery near Yambol, Bulgaria. The
monastery monks cells buildings are new and doesn't hold a hundred
or thousand of years of history but still the place is very unique,
surrounded by multitude of hundred year old pine trees just 3
minutes of climbing of an Orthodox Church building build in 1902 in
memoriam of the great battles that occured for liberation of
Bulgarian from Ottoman Turkish empire in Shipka Peak in years
1876-1877.
Yesterday night we spend the night in the monastery guest building.
The monks there accepted us quite lukewarm and we were quickly
accomodated in (a large room with 6 beds inside). The abbot of
Shipka's Monastery is Archimandrite
Januarij
(January) - an early Christian great martyr saint. The
archimandrite was very hospitable to us, arranged quickly a fasting
dinner for us as well as later we had a small chat where he treated
us with some of his self-brew
Liquor.
As of time of writting in Shipka Monastery lives 6 monks and 2
novice monks. Its worthy to mention the Abbot's sharp sense of
humour, fr. January was making nice jokes every few minutes.
The monastery had 2 dining rooms one for guests and one for monks.
We had the chance to eat in both during the less 1 day stay in the
monastery.
Getting out of the "monastic walls", there are stone stairs leading
to the monastic Church building.
The Church building is majesticly beautiful with "underground"
crypt containing graves of Russian and Bulgarian soldiers, people
who sacrificed heroic there lives in the bloody
battle
that occured between Bulgarian guerillas and Russians soldiers in
The Battle of Shipka Pass
The Russian Church built in 1902 is dedicated as eternal memoriam
of the heroic battle for the sake of Christ and restoration of
Bulgarian Christian country, after we Bulgarians lived under the
yoke of Islam for
V centuries.
The Church is build fully in the tradition of Russian Orthodox
Church buildings (probably by Russian Architects). The
wall-painting (icons) are magnificient and painted in 19th century
Russian renessance style.
In the Church it is pure joy for pilgrils as there are
holy
relics of many saints including the holy relics of
Saint
Alexander Nevski. Here it is maybe good to say today in
Bulgarian Orthodox Church, we celebrate the "transferring"
(carrying away) of st. Alexander Nevrski's Holy Relics. The Church
is called
The Birth of Christ in veneration of our Saviour's
Birth. it is huge cathedral building with 4 Alters, where on of the
alters is dedicated to saint
Alexander Nevski.
Especially for the feast of St. Aleksander Nevski the Metropolitan
of Stara Zagora - his beautitude
Galaktion came and served
the Holy Liturgy service. There were also about 12 of priests and
monks who came and co-served the holy liturgy in order to venerate
the great Russian saint.
Going out of the Church the mountain view from is absolutely
"breath taking" and something worthy to see if you come in
Bulgaria.
Something interesting is the big Church bells, one of the Church
bells is currently the biggest existing bell on the Balkans. As you
can guess the bell ding is super loud :)
Here are some pictures from
Rozhdestvo Hristovo (
The
Birth of Christ) Church from Shipka to enjoy:
The Crypt of Soldiers who gave their life for nowdays Bulgarian
freedom in Shipka Memoriam Church
Very near to Shipka's monastery, there is a pathway leading to
exact place where severe bloody battles between Russian, Bulgarian
liberators and Turkish army occured. Nowdays on Shipka Peak is a
huge beautiful monument in ever-remembrance of the brave Bulgarian
Russian soldiers who loose their lives for the sake of
Bulgaria.