On the eve of the great Christian Feast of the Epiphany, also known as Yordanovden, a great water blessing ceremony was served in all Bulgarian Orthodox churches. The ritual refers to The Baptism of Christ in the sacred River Jordan by John the Baptist.
This is one of the most solemn sacraments of the Church's ordinances and is celebrated after the Divine Liturgy of Saint Basil. The Great Epiphany Blessing takes plave twice a year - on Epiphany and on the eve of Epiphany itself. The first Christians performed water-blessing rituals on the night before the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord. Since then, Orthodox Christians in Bulgaria have been praying at midnight before the Epiphany. It is believed that this is the time when the skies open and the Lord hears their sincere prayers.
The Patriarchal Cathedral of St Alexander Nevsky is celebrating its temple feast today. The cathedral, a symbol of the Bulgarian capital, was built "in gratitude to the Russian people for the liberation of Bulgaria from Ottoman rule in 1878". Who..
On November 22 and 23, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church will solemnly celebrate the 100th anniversary of the consecration of the Patriarchal Cathedral "St. Alexander Nevsky" . For a century the cathedral has been "a witness to all the hopes and..
The Feast of the Epiphany - the entry of the Theotokos into the Temple - is one of the oldest and most revered feasts in the Orthodox world. It was introduced in Constantinople around the 8th century during the time of Patriarch Tarasius. It was six..
On December 9 the Orthodox Church celebrates the Conception of the Most Holly Theotokos by Saint Anne. Joachim and Anne were childless for a long..
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