The New Martyr saint Onufrij ( Onuphrius )(1786 – 1818) was born in Gabrovo, Veliko Tarnovo Diocese, to pious and noble parents. (His father Decho later became a monk under the name of Daniel in the same Hilendar monastery on Mount Athos, where his son was then active). The child Onuphrius was given the name Matthew in Holy Baptism. When he grew up, he was sent to a one of scarce Bulgarian schools, where he studied well. When he was 17 years old, his parents once punished him for some childish thing unrest, and out of frivolous childishness, he declared in the presence of Turks that he would accept the Muslim faith.
In such cases, the Turks immediately seized the person who gave the promise to convert to islam and performed the rite of Mohammedan circumcision on him.
To prevent this, his parents hid him and perhaps sent him to the "fotress" of Christian Orthodox FaIth and keeper of Bulgarian spirit, the Troyan Monastery "Holy Mother of God". In Troyan Monastery, to this day there is a the mouth to mouth legend that the Venerable Martyr Onuphrius began his monastic feat and received his first monastic haircut here with the name Manasseah (Manasij).
He ascended diligently in spiritual life, but the voice of his conscience began to rebuke him more and more for his public denial of Christianity, even if only in words. Probably because of this he went to Holy Mount Athos, hoping that there, under the guidance of more experienced elders, he would repent enough and calm his conscience. Manasseah spent some time in the Hilendar Monastery (a monastery that at this time has been inhibited with many Bulgarian monks), where he was ordained a deacon.
But, as the holy fathers of the Church say, the more a Christian grows in virtue, the deeper he humbles himself and his small sins seem great., same happened with Hierodeacon Manasseah.
He was always impressed by the words of the Savior Christ:
"Whosoever shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven; but whosoever denieth me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven."(Matt. 10: 32-33).
And from the lives of the saints he was especially deeply moved by the example of the holy martyr Barlaam, who held his hand without trembling over the burning pagan altar until his hand burned completely, but did not drop incense on the altar, to protect the occusation that he has offered incense to the idols. His heart was inflamed with jealousy when the Venerable Euthymius, Ignatius and Acacius (Agathius), performed their martyrdom. Then Manasseah secretly left Hilendar and went to the Forerunner's Hermitage to the local clergyman (elder) Nicephorus with a request to prepare him for such a martyrdom.
For four months he worked hard on enormous spiritual and bodly feats under the guidance of this elder. Every day Manasseh made four thousand bows; his prayer was unceasing; his remorseful mood brought tears to his eyes.
During these four months of preparation he atetwo and a half kilograms of dried grapes, and in the strictest forty-day fast he ate 30 grams of bread every two or three days and drank water in moderation. After Elder Nicephorus thus prepared him for the impending martyrdom, he cut his hair in a great scheme receiving the great-schema name of Onufrij ( Onuphrius ) and sent him to the island of Chios with the same companion, Elder Gregory, whom he sent with the other martyrs анд вхере тхеир feat would take place there.
On Island Chios Saint Onuphrius lived one Sunday in fasting and prayer, while on Friday, the day of Christ's suffering, he appeared in Turkish robes before the local turkish judge, openly blasphemed Muhammad and threw the green turban on his head.
He was exhorted, thrown into prison, tortured, and sentenced to death the same day. On January 4, 1818, his head was cut off on the seashore and along with his blood his body was thrown into the sea, so that Christians could not take for granted his holiness any particle veneration of the Venerable Martyr.
Before his death, some asked him about his name and homeland. The Venerable Martyr replied that his name was Matthew and that he was from Veliko Tarnovo. In this way he wanted to save the Holy Mount Athos and his monastery from troubles by the Turks. Soon after his martyrdom, the Greeks from Mount Athos, soon canonized him and compiled a (living) biography and a service in his honor.
On 28 of December, just a day after the Nativity of Christ in Bulgarian Orthodox Church, we mark up the feast of 20000 Holy Martyrs for Christ from Nicomedia.
Here is the story shortly re-told.
When Emperor Maximian (284-305) returned victorious from a battle wtih the Ethiopians and desired to offer thanks sacrifice to the idols, he ordered all around the Roman Empire people from Nicomedia to gather, to bow down the pagan gods. Christians of Nicomedia refused to Sacrifice to the idols knowing the idols are not God but demons who pretend to be different gods making fake miracles to cloud the spiritual eye sight of their worshippers. Antim bishop of Nicomedia at these time, hearing for the order, gathered all Christians in Nicomedia and the whole night before the Nativity of Christ, he served a night vigil and Holy Liturgy teaching the people in trutful Christ faith. Finding out about this Maximian ordered Roman soldiers to surround the whole Cathedral Church with dry twigs and bushes and fire them up.in order to burn all the Christians inside. Knowing about the bonfire prepared for him and Christ's flock, he hurried up to baptize the newly believed Christians still unbaptized believing Christians (the so called углашени), and present them with the Holy Eucharist (mysteries). This happened in year 302. This fearful event completed the most fierce persecution against Christians that continued for 10 years. The early Church persecution ended with the enthronement of the new emperor Saint Constantine.
20000 Thousand of Martyrs for Christ in a day is one of the greatest victory for Christ's Church. It is a clear indication of the truthfulness of our faith. As never in whole human history has been 20000 of innocent people were killed for sharing one and the same believe.
Why we practice a childrean baptizm inside the Orthodox Church?
Practicing baptizm on new born babies has been a criticism that many Protestant Churches has on us Orthodox Christians. The protestant arguments point at our Holy Orthodox Church claiming this is wrong, hence I decided to write this little article to explain to protestant as much as I can why their understanding that we should not baptize babies is wrong.
As I’m “conscious” Orthodox Christian since about 8 years, this question was making me wonder and making me distrust the Truthfullness of the Orthodox Christain faith back then.
So why we Orthodox Christian Baptize, if the children is still so young so it can’t understand the faith? Where this new born babies practice come from? and why we still hold it in the Church? It is due to one and only main reason; Nobody knows how long he will live! – (maybe the new born will die in birth (God Forbid), maybe a sudden death will strike (God Forbid)!; Plus moreover in early days of the Church, it was a common thing that new born babies die in infancy or in a very young age in less than a year time. Thus seeing this in one spirit in leaded by the Holy Spirit in earlier times the One Holy Apostolic Church / Orthodox Church holy hiearachs lead by the Holy Spirit itself, decided together that baptism is practice on new borns. Back in those days Christian people’s Faith and Hope in God was huge, so it was usual that Christians baptized their kids in order for their kid to receive a higher blessing in very young times of the kid (few months, 40 days) or in the early days of childhood. The children baptizm was practiced with one and only reason to assure salvation of the kid (if it suddenly pass away) and grant him the Grace of the Holy Spirit (received after Christian Baptism) from its baby years. The historical facts on why we baptize kids is broader so anyone deeply interested in his faith and non-Orthodox or even Orthodox Christian might like to check it.
The earliest historical evidence of infancy baptism from histroy dates back to early II-nd century. We read about it in the Apostolic Tradition of Hippolytus about year 215 A.D.. Little chunk extracted from the text is:
“Baptize first the children, and if they can speak for themselves let them do so. Otherwise, let their parents or other relatives speak for them.” (Hippolytus, Apostolic Tradition 21:15, c. 215 A.D.)
It might be shocking for Protestant Christians to find out that even their faith finding collosus (founding fathers) – Martin Luther and John Calvin believed and found baby baptism as something normal and necessery.
Of the baptism of children we hold that children ought to be baptized. For they belong to the promised redemption made through Christ, and the Church should administer it to them. (Martin Luther, The Smalcald Articles, Article V: Of Baptism, 1537)
“If, by baptism, Christ intends to attest the ablution by which he cleanses his Church, it would seem not equitable to deny this attestation to infants, who are justly deemed part of the Church, seeing they are called heirs of the heavenly kingdom.” (John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, 1559)
For us Orthodox Christians is understand as a sacrament – A Mystery (unexplainable and incomprehensible by human mind and knowled). We firmly believe in Christian Baptism, the priest communicates to us the Grace of the Lord over the baptised and it doesn’t matter if it is over fully grown adult person or a a baby which can’t dogmatically understand the truths of our faith. Actually we perceive the kids Baptism as a way to enter and become part of the New Covenent given to us and established by the Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ spilled on the Cross for our Sins!
We also believe the Old Testamental circumcision practiced by Jewish (even to this day) used to be one other Old Testamental Prophecy about the Water Holy Baptism nowdays practiced in the Church. By Baptising in our Holy Orthodox Church, our hearts are mystically circumcised by the Grace of the Holy Spirit which descends over us and cleanse us from sin and all evil. Making our bodies a dwelling of God.
Baptism is the first thing which opens our doors to the 7 mysticisms of the Church and marks the beginning of our Christian life in Christ. The link between Circumcision and Baptism is also mentioned by in Colossians 2:11-12 by St. Apostle Paul:
In [Christ] you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead. (Colossians 2:11-12)
As Protestant Christians like to quote the Bible and take as a trustful source of information and criteria about truthful Christianity, it is useful to mention following Bible Verses, which also are reference for the Early Age / Baby Baptism:
“… she [Lydia] and the members of her household were baptized…” (Acts 16:15)
“… immediately he [the jailer] and all his family were baptized.” (Acts 16:33)
“… I [the apostle Paul] also baptized the household of Stephanas…” (I Corinthians 1:16)
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children…” (Acts 2:38-39)
According to Orthodox Christian Traditioan Lydia, The Jailer and Stephanus had children and some of them had even kids in an infancy (baby) age.
It is also useful to mention what was the Lord and Saviour Jesus himself said concerning the kids, as this will make even more clearer what the Lord himself says for childrean and in my believe it answers should babys be baptised in this young unconscious age or not?
Then little children were brought to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked those who brought them. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
(Matthew 19:13-14)
I hope my little article will help someone to have a very, very basic clue on why we orthodox baptize our children in a very young age
It is useful to mention that my article is not intended to shed light on specifics on Orthodox Baptism as Holy Baptism includes another mystics which is oilment – A mysticism rejected by Protestant Christians and Roman Catholics. It just aims to give a very basic and simplistic (incomplete answer), I’m not a theologist myself and I’m not a Priest so specifics on Baptism should be always consulted with a Priest or a member of the Priestly spiritual Hierarchy in our Orthodox Church. I hope this post will be also useful for seeking Christian people with AnaBaptist understanding for Baptism. For those who doesn’t know the AnaBaptists used to be a movement part of Protestant later days reformation who rejected baby baptism and began re-baptizing each other, thinking the baptism as kid was invalid. Nowdays it is a pity even in Orthodox Christian Countries as Bulgaria, plenty of people who belive in the Lord Jesus Christ reject their infancy baptism (if had so) and think of re-baptizing themselves (even often in heretical protestant or Methodist Churches) – I myself know and heard of cases like this. However lets hope and pray that all this lost sheeps will realize the mistake they did and come back to the one and Holy Apostolic Church – the Holy Orthodox Church.
I myself was baptized and am Orthodox Christian in my 8th months after birth. But Though Glory be to God I was baptized as a kid, I was not exactly in details explained the Orthodox Christian faith in my young years (not having opportunity to learn in detail true Christian faith) due to the severe deliberate attempts of Communists to destroy our Bulgarian Church and faith in God
But obviously my baptism thanks to God has in my later years given its fruit as I little by little started researching Orthodox faith and by God’s Holy Spirit grace in the “set time” I was blessed with the gift of faith and little by little I started understanding the Church teachings and by the Mysticism of confession and taking Jesus’s blood and Flesh in sacraments re-united with our Lord Jesus Christ.
I'm currently once again on a pilgrimage in Pomorie Monastery St. George (Bulgaria) – EU as you should read in my previous day post. The brotherhood here is very hospital, since our coming (with Kliment), we were treated like being a part of the monks community. We're given food and allowed to eat together with the monks on one table and even we can enter into some of the interesting discussions after food :). The life in a monastery is actually quite fascinating, though on the outside it seems boring.
As a general rule monks eat a meal twice a day. On Monday, Wednesday and Friday, the meals are cooked and served usually without oil (except if the Abbot didn't bless differently). The abbot in the Monastery is like a King. The order in the whole monastery resides very much a Kingdom, where the abbot is king some of the monks are his (left and right hand and counselors) etc.
Just like in kingdoms, there are workers who help the kingdom to flourish. With the case with the monastery workers are (mostly believing people) hired (with a wage) to help with the monastery works.
The kitchen "district" has a (chef) cook lady, person/s (usually believing Christians) who help with cooking cutting and vegetables and various meal preparations etc. and serving the brotherhood and workers dinner and lunch. Oh yes I almost forgot, monks didn't eat breakfast. Their usual first meal is like 12 or 12:30 as a straight dinner.
As in Other Orthodox monasteries, here in Pomorie Monastery the monastery is named after the heavenly protector of the place Saint Martyr George.
The brotherhood life here is not as tough as the monasteries located in desert destinations, though just like in other mountain situated Orthodox Christian monasteries the monks has an established everyday Morning and Evening Church Service.
The morning Church service usually starts around 06:00 or 06:30, while on a feast days like Sunday (The Day of Resurrection of Jesus Christ) the service starts a bit later in 07:00 or at very special occasions in 07:30 …
The Evening Services usually start around 04:30 or 05:00 o'clock and continue (depending on Church calendar feast day (saint)) from 30 to 40 minutes up to 2, 3 hours (in biggest feasts or fasting periods). All the monks should be present on Morning and Evening service, where a bell is rang whether the monks has to gather together for a Church service prayer.
As of time of writting officially Pomorie monastery has 4 monk brothers. One is the Abbot, the abbot's left hand, one other hiero-monk who sometimes is serving the Holy Liturgy church services and another monk who is in his 70s and is mostly doing Church book readings. Occasionally the brotherhood accepts a novice pupils who want to enter the monastic life, but as long as my observations goes (during the few years I came as a pilgrim here) many of the novices find the monastic life for them and quit after a few months or a year time.
Just a year earlier the brotherhood, here had 6 monks. Unfortunately the oldest monk Father Tikhon who lived inside the monastery more than half of his life (40 years in the monastery W0W!) passed away after a short sickness and hospitalization. Another one of the monks (Father Joanikius) was transferred by the Sliven's Metropolitan (named also father Joanikius) to serve his monkship (obedience) in our Bulgarian Monastery situation in Holy Mount Athos (Greece) , e.g. to Zographus monastery.
The Abbot of the monastery (Father Yierotej) is a young and energetic person (35 years old) with a good sense of humour and a great God given wisdom grace and joyful temper.
Besides the core monks brothrehood currently the monastery has 5 workers and about 5 to 10 persons (people who are in hardships and have no place to stay) and were accepted to get a healing and a life stabilization while living for a while in the monastery. Some of those people are almost full time living inside the monsatic walls helping with their knowledge and talents to the brotherhood The overall number of people who inhibit the monastery is about rawly 15 people. All this people are given free meals 2 times daily and eat together often either in the monastic kitchen or the dining-room (which is also serving as a guest room).
Before and after each meal intake the people gathered together in the dinner-room pray together asking Jesus Christ to bless their food and drink. Usually the Abbot whenever on the table is the one to ask God for a food blessing. After the meal is complete the Abbot or some of the monks says a thanksful prayer thanking Jesus for giving the daily bread and asking God to give us also the heavenly spiritual food.
The most common food eaten here is vegetables and fruits and in non-fasting days they eat some youghurt, cheese or fish. Eating meat however is un-common and most of the food consumed is fasting food (meat is considered inappropriate food for Orth Christian Monks). The monastery is surrounded by a around a meter monastic walls. In the middle of the monastery is located the Monastic Church Saint Martyr George whichs basic walls dates back to the distant XIX century.
Facing the church about 40 meters from the Chuch are located the monks dwelling rooms also in monastic language called (cells). The monk's cell is full of icon and holy water, crucific crosses and all kind of faith related books so in a sense the monks room looks like a tiny Church.
Right in the middle of Pomorie Monsatery there is a holy spring – disease healing water which by God's providence healed the first Abbot and beneficient of the monastery (ironically the Turkish Abbot Salim Bey who converted from Islam to Christianity and donated all his land to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in the 18 century when still Bulgaria was enslaved by Turkish).
The monastic yard is filled with green beautiful Peach and Plumb Trees. In the monastery yard they have sew of; potatoes, tomatoes, corn and few other "basic" self-grown. vegetables.
Along with the plants in one of the corners near the monastic wall there is a henhouse where some chickens and few turkeys are grown for getting fresh (natural) eggs.
In the old days the brotherhood was growing all their food by themselves as it was a tradition in the Monasteries, however with the changing times and the huge decrease of monks, growing all the monastic food on their-own became an impossible task ….
The monastery is mainly living on pilgrim or local believing people donations and the monastic land, as well as to sales of Orthodox icons and tiny faith related objects (crosses, holy bibles, church related books and literature) etc.
As I hear from some of the monks the harsh economic situation and severe world crisis that is plaguing the world also has a negative influence on the financial balance of the holy cloister too. A monk shared with me the financial expenses of the monastery tend to be "dangerously" growing lately as the amount of people whose the brotherhood is feeding and taking care (healing) daily along with the money for restoration works are raising and the monastery experiences a shortage of money. Still they're not discouraged but as I was told praying and hoping on God's grace to send them kind heart donators to help the monastery.
Most of the people who are in the monsatery not for a theraupetic reason (with a severe disease) work all day long. Though the work seems to be never ending here, one feels calm, relaxed and gracious. Even staying for few hours here, makes you filled-up with God's grace and gives you new energy and hope to continue the harsh daily stress filled life.
Besides the Monastery the town of Pomorie is also very beuatiful and have all the facilities and entertainment a tourist might like to have from a modern beach resort. Yesterday I went and had my first beach time here in Pomorie. Something interesting I noticed on the beach is the sand color which here in Pomorie is a bit blackish. The sea coast here near the beach is not big but feels cozy and there are bars near the beach shore, so anyone wanting to enjoy some of the world goods too can have a fanastic time here 🙂
I've decided to delete my linkedin account as I don't see any good in constact connectiodness and being part of many "social" networks which if one thinks in deeply are not social but anti-social.
You just stay at home staring at a screen and it will be like this until the end of your days and even worser for the generations to come. Computer revolution or digital revolution is in reality huge devolutin (devil-lution)
To delete the linkedin account I used a short tutorial provided by This post
TO reach to your Profile settings, use upper right corner of your browser and follow the menus:
Settings -> Account -> Close your account
Once, trying to delete your account, linkedin will try to manipulate you to stay in Linkedin by pushing some of your contacts, pointing how you will get disconnected from him. I'm amazed how impudent this guys can be, actually, its not just them. If you have tried or deleted your facebook account before time you will have faced, exactly the same thing. A profile (person picture) which was recently browsed by you will be shown to you and be said you will be unable to connect with him any more. Well who cares if it is God's will we will connect again 🙂
The problem with us modern people is we're so deluded that we have started relying more on technology and human knowledge than to God. For most people who are atheists relying more on technology than on God for their lives seems reasanable However for us Christians putting more trust in technology than in Gods providence for us is sinful and deadly. I'm starting to get the conclusion, non-technological societies are more happier than technological ones. In that sense, we the Bulgarians are blessed, because technology is not so widely spread.
It’s the third day, after the saviour’s tomb was found empty. The third day after the evel living has manifested his divinity by showing himself alive to The Holy Virgin Mary (Theotokos) to Mary Magdalene and to few of the Holy Apostles. The upcoming week is called within the Church The Bright Week The whole week is a week of a divine spiritual joy which we all the Christians experiens (feels).
God is really graceful to us the sinners in this holy days of the year.
“Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down death by death, and on those in the tombs bestowing life!”
Happy Easter to all my beloved readers. In relation to the Greatest feast of all times I wish to all my readers a lot of good health, a lot of success in all good, and a lot of love. Rejoice for the Lord and Saviour of mankind has been risen!
In Jerusalem the Holy Fire has descended from Heaven. For all Unorthodox Christians, it’s important to note that the Holy Fire is the miracle confirming that the Christian Orthodox faith is the true ancient Christian faith in fulness!
Each year the Holy Fire descends from heaven and lights up the candle of the Patriarch of the Jerusalem Church. This only happens on the Orthodox Easter! This is without question a great miracle and a very graceful act by which God shows us he has not left us behind.
Here is a video you can watch, where you can see the miracle happening as well as a discussion, is really the miracle real:
Miracle of the Holy Fire in the Holy Sepulchre (Jesus’s Tomb) in Jerusalem – Easter 2011
Holy Light (Holy Fire) in Jerusalem: Proofs & Testimonies
During the three days in which, we the Christians celebrate the glorious Resurrection of our Lord and Saviour. It’s accepted that the ordinary “Hi” or “Hello” greeting we use daily, is ex-changed for “Christ is Risen!” 🙂
The word “Easter” used for the Resurrection 3 day feasts is also interesting as it comes from “Eastern” – (e.g. Eastern Orthodox Church) 🙂
Today is the great and sad day for us Christians in which the Lord has been crucified.
It’s a day of a great spiritual sorrow for all the Orthodox Christian. It’s also the day in which we do venerate the holy shroud (plashtenica) in which the Lord’s body has been wrapped, after it was removed from the life giving cross.
The priest takes the plashtenica and walks through the temple and afterwards we do venerate the holy plashtenica (The dead body of the saviour).
There is a local Orthodox Church tradition which I believe is very specific to the bulgarian orthodox Church. The plashtenica is placed on a table, the holy gospel and the holy cross are placed by the priest over the plashtenica (the shroud), after which grouped in a line (first the children, then the man, followed by the woman) we the layman do kiss the holy gospel, the cross and the plashtenica showing evidently our love for Christ and his gospel and our respect for the Lord’s Great Cross sufferings. Further on the layman does crawl (under the table with the plashtenica).
The crawling under the plashtenica in Bulgarian Orthodox Church is a very known tradition by bulgarian people.
The crawling under the table symbolically shows that we take participation in the Lord’s death. As it’s written that we all who are in Christ are being death for the world after the Holy Baptism.
There are probably other reasons for which the Church has established the passing under of the holy plashtenica which I’m not aware of.
What is sad is that most people does not really understand the real symbolism behind the crossing below the plashtenica (crossing below the table).
Thus many people who know the feast of Great Friday do come to the church to cross below the plashtenica as an act of superstition, as they don’t really understand why they do it. They simply interpret that crossing below the plashtenica would grant them “good health”, “a life success” or good fortune.
Many of those people who come to crawl under the table, are not a regular on other Church services (Holy Liturgies) and therefore completely miss even the basics of our Christian beliefs.
Many of those people who are not adept in faith, do come to the Church with the only goal “to crawl below the table” and leave the Church immediately after that …
It’s truly sad to see that especially when I know that we Bulgarians are Orthodox Christian nation. An Orthodox Christian nation who is starting to forget Christianity …
Just to give you an idea on how people have left astray from Orthodox Christian faith I can tell you for sure that the regular Church goers who attend Holy Liturgies and have intermediate knowledge of Orthodox Christianity and Church order in Bulgaria are not more than 4% of all the Bulgarian population.
This means that probably no more than approximately 300 000 of Bulgarians are in a communion with our Bulgarian Orthodox Church and do regularly confess and take the sacraments.
Here is an Orthodox Singing of the core troparion for the day (in Greek):
I’m just coming back from the Bulgareevo (a small village cituated nearby Kavarna). Bylgareevo is a middle size bulgarian village situated near the sea and is not famous with anything significant. The village has two Orthodox Church temples and a serving Priest (an Archimandrite, father Metodii). Father Metodii is one of this priests that is a person to remember as he is a truly devoted to Christ monk. Since about two years of time he has reconstructed his local village house and the yard nearby the house into something which hopefully in the short future will become a fully monk inhabited spiritual fortress (A Monastery). Father Metodii lives and believes part of his service to God constitutes in rising this small monastery and gathering together Bulgarian believers in order to further rise up the Bulgarian faith in Christ and to become a center for spiritual pilgrimage.
The monastery already has a monastery bell, a monks cells and the small chapel (parakles/paraklis) prepared to be as a place for monks pilgrimage.
Father Metodii’s efforts to make the monastery an attractive place for future candidate novice Monks and Monks are truly genuine! All he has done by so far is a good example for all us the Christians to follow. Most of the expenses related to the Monastery building are being paid by the Father himself as he has donated all his possession to the Church. As part of this efforts to rise up the place as a place for spiritual pilgrimage by God grace Bylgareevo’s monastery has been granted the honour to contain a particle of the Holy Live giving Cross Tree on which our Lord Jesus Christ has been crucified.. By God’s mercy the Patriarch of Jerusalem and the local national museum has donated two particles of the Holy Cross on which our Lord Jesus Christ was Crucified and suffered for our sins.
Now the holy crucifixion cross remains particles are being kept in the Monastery’s small chapel for pilgrimage. Thus the opportunity for a pilgrimage journey to Bylgareevo on this day of great spiritual joy Palm Sunday was a huge blessing for me and the few more brothers and sisters with whom we traveled to Bulgareevo Below I present you with a picture on which you can see Father Metodii (Methodius) holding in hands the small particle of the Crist’s Crucifixion cross tree (embedded in the center of the wood cross on the picture).
The name of the village Bulgareevo is also really interesting as it’s a direct direvative from the word Bylgariq (which translates as Bulgaria). Along with the two particles of the Holy life giving Cross where the saviour Jesus Christ was crucified, father Metodii has collected some great saint relics, just to name a few of the relics which are in the newly built monastery in Bulgareevo; holy relics of saint Panteleimon, holy Relics of Saint John of Rila etc.
Now going back to Palm Sunday‘s feast essense, Palm Sunday is among the 12 Church feasts in the Orthodox Churches, we use to call (The Lord’s feasts [Gospodski Praznici]), and thus is one of the 12 feasts which are most spiritually richful for Bulgaria as an Orthodox Nation and for all other national Orthodox Churches around the world.
Palm Sunday is always celebrated on the Last Sunday before the beginning of “the passionate week”, the week in which we who believe in Christ’s name remember the great trials and suffering our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ has carried for the salvation of all Christians.
Palm Sundayis the feast in which we as we read in the Gospel readings in the Church, commemorate Christ’s entrance in Jerusalem on a small donkey. Here is a small chunk of the Gospel reading for the day:
They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, "Hosanna!" "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" "Blessed is the King of Israel!"
In this scripture text as we read above the people were glorifying God and Christ as the son of the God in accordance to the Old testament scriptures in which it was prophecised that the Saviour of Mankind (The Messiah) would walk in through the entrance doors of Jerusalem riding a donkey. People who were present observing the Lord’s entrance were witnessing the fulfilment of the old testament psalms prophecies by glorifying the Lord.
This were the same people which just a week later were screaming “crucify” him …
On Palm Sunday it is a Church tradition in the Bulgarian Orthodox Church that willow branches are being blessed by the priest and then distributed among layman as a blessing and a remembrance of the Palms which were layed upon the Lord’s entrance in Jerusalem.
Later on we took the willow branches in our homes and place it in our home icon-stands (the place with the icons we use for a prayer to God).
The use of willow branches in our Church has been established through the years as a Palm Trees substitute as the Palm tree does not grow in the Bulgarian lands
In Bulgaria Palm Sunday is known as Tsvetnitsa. People with flower-related names, (for example Tzviatko, Margarita, Lilia, Violeta, Yavor, Zdravko, Zjumbjul, Nevena, Temenuzhka, etc.) has a name day on that date. It’s a pity that many bulgarian people who are baptized in our Bulgarian Orthodox Church, fails to understand the symbolic meaning of the willow branches and doesn’t really understand the essence of the Church feast but just go to Church to light up a candle “to have a good fortune and health”., usually mostly missing the spiritual importance for us the Christians of this feast.. but I hope things would get better with time and more Bulgarians who lost their roots during communism will come back to their ancient faith the Orthodoxy.
I recommend to all Orthodox Christian believers from Bulgaria, Romania and Russia who has the oportunity to visit Bulgaria as a tourist destination or on any other occasion to visit Bylgareevo and do a pilgrimage journey to Bylgareevo newly constructed monastery containing the holy relicts.
You will receive the great spiritual blessing of venerating the particle of the cross on which our Lord Jesus Christ’s most holy body was hanging on! The cross on which the redemption of mankind was achieved by God’s son 2010 years ago! The cross on which we have received a forgiveness of our sins! I thank the Lord for having this good blessed day and I pray that we all who believe in his name come to the understanding to know his as he knows us!
It’s quite common lately that I experience a deep Spiritual Sorrow. I googled around searching for answers but it seems like there is no answer. Today we the Christians celebrate “Transfiguration”. The Transfiguration of Jesus Christ on the Olive mountain and his meeting with the Old testament’s prophets. Lately I can’t pray much and I’m starting to loose faith which is pretty bad. I still hope God would do something to change that. Tomorrow I’m thinking to go to the Office in Varna, will see what will happen there.END—–
