With a solemn water blessing ritual and laying of wreaths, the Day of the Slavonic Alphabet and Bulgarian Culture was celebrated outside the National Library in Sofia where stands the monument of the holy brothers Cyril and Methodius who created and promoted the earliest Bulgarian alphabet in 9 c.

The water blessing was served by the Bishop of Melnik Gerasim. The ceremony took place in the presence of Patriarch Neophyte, President Rumen Radev, National Assembly President Dimitar Glavchev, Sofia Mayor Yordanka Fandakova, workers of culture, opinion leaders, schoolchildren, many teachers and parents.

In his speech President Rumen Radev pointed out that today we are all Bulgarians and that in the hierarchy of the spirit and culture the top belongs not to politicians but to every bright Bulgarian child.
“The Bulgarian language is our fortune by birth. In hard times it is the thread leading to freedom. Language is both an inspiration and solace. When the spirit wanes, the language joins our suffering.”

“The language of Vazov and Mihaylovski, of Aleko and Geo Milev, of Vaptsarov and Valery Petrov will never perish! It will outlive ignorance and the experiments of the foolish and the reckless!”

One of the highlights in the presidential speech was his message to Bulgarians abroad:

“Today Bulgaria spreads on five continents, because our compatriots have taken away with them tiny particles of this invisible motherland – the Bulgarian language, to all corners of the planet! This language is a priceless thread that can at any moment in time, lead them back home!”

“Words are our common capital. Let us protect them, because they protect us too”, the president concluded.