Bachkovo Monastery Celebrates the Feast of Glorification of Holy Relics of Patriarch Saint Euthymius of Tarnovo

Bachkovo Monastery of the Dormition of the Mother of God is celebrating the Feast of the Glorification of the Holy Relics of Patriarch Saint Euthymius of Tarnovo. On the third anniversary of the establishment of the feast, a festive Divine Liturgy was celebrated at the monastery, concelebrated by Metropolitan Jacob of Dorostol, Metropolitan Dimitrios of Safita of the Greek Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch in Syria, Bishop Bogoslov of Makriopolis and Bishop Sioniy of Velika, abbot of Bachkovo Monastery.

Bishop Sioniy of Velika, abbot of Bachkovo Monastery, thanked all the senior clergy for concelebrating and said:

“As Saint Patriarch Euthymius said: ‘I leave you in the hands of the Holy Trinity!’ This is his great blessing. When we are entrusted to the Holy Trinity, we are in the safest hands of the living God.”

Three years ago, the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church – Bulgarian Patriarchate (BOC-BP) issued a patriarchal and synodal message proclaiming the Glorification of the Holy Relics of Patriarch Saint Euthymius of Tarnovo. In it, the Church declared that the relics discovered were indeed those of the heavenly patron and intercessor in prayer for the Orthodox Bulgarian people, and the last Bulgarian patriarch of the medieval era – St Euthymius of Tarnovo. At the time, the Church called for disputes and disagreements to end and established a new feast, the Glorification of the Holy Relics of Patriarch St Euthymius of Tarnovo, which is being celebrated today.

St Euthymius of Tarnovo was born in Tarnovo in 1327. Blessed by God with exceptional gifts, he distinguished himself from an early age through his learning and pure spiritual life. In 1350, he became a monk at Kilifarevo Monastery under the guidance of St Theodosius. He later spent several years in Constantinople and on Mount Athos. After returning to Tarnovo, Euthymius withdrew to a cave near the capital. Other monks settled around him, and the Monastery of the Holy Trinity was established, becoming a centre of learning and spiritual life. There, St Euthymius wrote saints’ lives and encomia, revised liturgical books and translated other texts. In 1375, he was elected patriarch and proved to be a devoted shepherd. When Tarnovo was captured by the Ottoman Turks, he courageously stood up for the people. He was sent into exile in southern Bulgaria, where he passed away around 1402.

In August, Bishop Sioniy of Velika, abbot of Bachkovo Monastery, opened the 21st annual gathering of the Bulgarian Iconographers’ Association (BIA), which is once again being held in the monastery grounds. Alongside the iconographers’ gathering, the association’s annual exhibition was also opened. It is dedicated to the 633rd anniversary of the fall of Tarnovo to Ottoman rule and the exile of Patriarch St Euthymius of Tarnovo, to the monastery. Last year, Patriarch Daniil celebrated the Divine Liturgy for the feast of St Euthymius of Tarnovo at Bachkovo Monastery on the same day.