Bulgarian Orthodox Church canonized the Martyrs
of the Orthodox Christian Martyrs of Batak and Novo Selo in a
canonization Holy Liturgy
Today the 3rd of April in the Patrierchal Cathedral Saint Alexander
Nevski in Sofia, the Bulgarian Church has officially canonized the
martyrs from Batak and Novo Selo.
The Holy Liturgy in Saint Alexander Nevski that's been held in the
st. Alexander Nevski (Largest Cathedral Church in Bulgaria) has
been led by the his All Holiness the Patriarch of Bulgaria
Maxim.
The holy liturgy canonization has been also transmitted live in the
Bulgarian National Television.
The canonization itself took place right in the end of the Holy
Liturgy.
Where the bulgarian leading clergy (bishops, metropolitans
archimandrites, the Patriarch himself) has officially announced the
decision of
The Bulgarian Church Holy Synod to Canonize the
Martyrs, who had endured martyrship for Christ in Batak and Novo
Selo villages during the April's Bulgarian liberation revolt in May
1876.
The martyrdom and the all the surrounding events that occured has
also been widely known in the Bulgarian history under the name
The Batak's Slaughtering / (Batashko Klane as we call it in
Bulgarian)
The mini liberation revolt has been extinguished by
Ahmed Aga
Barutanliqta in the brutal blood-bath according to different
historical estimations
the murders done by The Turkish mayor
Ahmed Aga had been in the range of in between 1750 and 5000
people most of which were an innocent peasants who had
voluntary agreed to left behind all their weapons and surrender to
the Turkish bashi-bozluk.
Most of the
martyrdom of the newly canonized martyrs has
happened in the Church "Holy Sunday"
Therein in this Church the terrible blood bath occured. The about
200 peasent, martyrs had stood in the Church for a three days, the
turkish has digged small holes in the Church walls and shooted
through them to kill them, a fire and gas has been used to kill as
many as possible, many of the killed martyrs has been little
children with their mothers.
The Turkish soldiers (beasts) couldn't enter the Church because the
Church was so filled with layman that the people were pressing the
Church doors.
The peasent martyrs had no water in the Church, so they used the
float light (icon-lamps) as a drinking liquid and blood of their
dead brothers and sisters as a water substitute. The Bashi-bozouk
Ahmed Aga ordered that beehives are let in the Church to sting the
Martyrs as well as burning straw soaked with gas was throw in
stifle the poor peasents.
On the third day all that left alive, went out of the Church, when
they found out they're doomed if they stay in.
All the Batak peasents that rejected to accept the Islam have
been beheaded, this are the same saints which has publicly been
announced by God's providence to be venerated as a Church martyr
saints Many of the young bulgarian mothers and girls, who have
left the Church had been brutally raped and then slaughtered for
their faith in Christ.
The Batak blood bath and martyrdom has been so severe and shocking
that it horrifyed all Western Europe, Russia and America.
Here is another picture taken in Batak after the brutal butcheries,
it depicts the widow wife of the initiator of the revolutionary
rebellion.
A while after the Martyrdom of the saints in Batak, the turkish
army tried to withold the information about the brutal killings,
which were absolutely inacceptable for the 19th century.
They tried to burn the Stone Church where they did their bestiality
but without any success by God's providence, next the turkish
bashi-bozluks tried to hide about the butchery by burying many of
the dead bodies and re-painted the Church laws, however as a
miracle of God very soon the martyrs blood which sprinked up the
Church laws has appeared on the laws.
A Pilgrim of the newly canonized martyrs could see still the blood
of the martyrs preserved there on the Church laws and see the big
numbers of relics of the slaughtered martyrs.
Here is
the stub used to behead the Batak's martyrs which is
now kept in the Bulgarian National Museum:
The
other martyrs which were canonized on the great feast for
our Bulgarian Church were brutally killed 8 nuns in a Novo Selo's
nunnery, they endured martyrdom again in 1876, the Novo Selo (a
nearby village).
The newly canonized saints is the last canonization that occured in
the Bulgarian Orthodox Church since the canonization in the distant
year 1964 when the Church decided to canonize (venerate as a saint)
saint Sofronii Vrachanski (st. Sophronius from Vratsa)
During the Holy Liturgy, an icons presenting the Batak martyrs and
the Novo Selo martyrs had been consecrated by his all Holiness
Maxim Patriach and head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
His Holiness Patriach Maxim is currently aged 96 and is one of
the oldest if not the oldest Orthodox Christian patriarch in the
worl today!
A Small chunk of the Batak and Novo Selo's saints Canonization is
available for watching on the address
http://www.vbox7.com/play:004f8828
The complete number of canonized saints as martyrs in the Bulgarian
Orthodox Church is about 700.
On the canonization festive holy liturgy there were Orthodox
Christian representatives of the Romanian and the Russian Orthodox
Church.
Batak saint Martyrs Icon
I pray that the merciful God (The Holy Trinity), be merciful to all
us the Bulgarian Orthodox Christians and all the Orthodox
Christians around the world and grant us forgiveness of our sins
and our Lord Christ grant us be with him and the Father and The
Holy Spirit in paradise, Now and Forever and Ever!
Amen