St. Georgi Sofiyski Novi (St. George the Newest of Sofia) was born in the town of Kratovo in a Bulgarian family. He was left without a father from an early age and fled to Sofia to avoid forced change of faith. Ottoman rulers in Sofia, however, cunningly tried to lure him into their faith, but despite the fact he was just 18 years old, he remained firm. Due to the refusal to change his faith he was burned at a stake on February 11, 1515.
No matter how hard the Ottomans tried to burn his body to dust, they did not succeed. The wood burned but the body remained intact. During the night, Christians secretly carried the body of the martyr to the church of "St. Marina" (in the yard of today's Sofia diocese) and solemnly buried it.
On All Saints' Day, when the Bulgarian Orthodox Church marks the Synaxis of All-Praiseworthy Twelve Apostles of Christ and the memory of all known and unknown martyrs and confessors of Christ, the laity in Bulgaria were rewarded for their faith...
The fate of the Saints Peter and Paul church in Sofia has had its ups and downs, it has been through all kinds of uncertainties. It is perhaps one of the lesser known churches in the capital city, but it is also the only one named after the apostles –..
"It was in the Bulgarian lands that the disciples of Cyril and Methodius created literary centres that made Bulgaria a second centre of Orthodox civilisation after Byzantium. Here was the foundation and the root from which the pan-Slavic culture drew..
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