BULGARIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH HONOURS ST. IVAN RILSKI

On 19th of October, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church commemorates St. Ivan Rilski (St. Ivan of Rila), the miracle maker, honoured as the patron saint of the Bulgarian people and as one of the most important saints in the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.

He was a contemporary to Simeon the Great and King Boris I, who introduced Christianity in his lands and made spread the Slavonic script in Bulgaria.

Saint Ivan of Rila was born app. 876 a.c. in Skrino, at the foot of the Osogovo Mountain, close to the town of Dupnitsa, South-Western Bulgaria.

Originally a herder, at the age of 25, Saint Ivan of Rila became a priest in the "St. Dimitrii" monastery located under peak Ruen. After accepting the life of a monk, he left the monastery in order to continue his life in solitude and prayer. Saint Ivan of Rila lived in isolation in various locations before going to the Rila Mountains. There he spent the rest of his life in prayer and deprived himself of an everyday life by settling in the uncomfortable conditions of the caves in the Rila mountains.

According to legend, Saint Ivan of Rila was known to have performed a multitude of miracles in order to help the people. These miracles brought him undesired fame as he tried to live the life of a hermit and avoid contact with others.

The fame of his piety grew and spread, and even King Petar, the son of Simeon the Great, traveled all the way from Preslav, the then capital, in the North-East, to visit the hermit.

Saint Ivan of Rila is traditionally regarded as the founder of the Rila Monastery, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of Bulgaria's most important cultural, historical and architectural monuments.

photo by BTA