Every year on 21 November the church marks the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, one of the 12 Great Feasts of the year, celebrated by both the Eastern Orthodox and the Catholic Church.
By a decision of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church from 1929, the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary is also celebrated in Bulgaria as the Day of the Christian Family. It coincides with the start of the Nativity Fast. On this day, at the end of church service in Eastern Orthodox houses of worship, believers receive Holy Communion.
Going to church as a family on this day symbolized the entry into the temple by 3-year old Mary, the future Mother of God. It is a reminder to parents of their spiritual obligations to their children. After returning from church the family gathers around the table which has always been a symbol of a strong family bond. The table is not cleared away so that when Virgin Mary comes during the night she will have something to eat and will bless the house.
Read more about the Day of the Christian Family here.
For the Orthodox Church, the 29th of April marks the beginning of Holy Week - a profound period dedicated to the contemplation of the life of the Saviour and the preparation for the Holy Resurrection. Immediately after the great Christian feast of..
"Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" (Luke 19:38). With these enthusiastic exclamations, which the Church recalls on the feast of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem, Jesus Christ was..
The tangents between biology and ecclesiastical icon-painting are unknown and incomprehensible to those who are devoted to science. For Ekaterina Titova, a doctor of biological sciences accustomed to approaching everything through logic, religious..
Overcast, rain
Cloudy
Mostly Cloudy
Partly cloudy, chance of rain