Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2024 All Rights Reserved

In Bulgaria: Orthodox Church celebrates Palm Sunday, Catholics and Armenians - Easter

Patriarch Neophyte also attended the solemn liturgy at St. Alexander Nevsky Church, April 9, 2023.
Photo: BGNES

Holy Mass was held in the Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky in Sofia on the occasion of the Entry of the Lord into Jerusalem. "May the peace and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with us all!" wished Patriarch Neophyte, who was present at the service. Palm Sunday is also known as Tsvetnitsa (from tsvete - flower) or Vrabnitsa (from varba - willow tree) in Bulgaria, where palm leaves are replaced with willow branches. Tomorrow begins Holy Week, the week of Christ's passion, crucifixion and resurrection.

Thousands gathered in the central Bulgarian town of Lovech, where there is a traditional crafts fair and a national festival of folk art and customs, BNR correspondent Plamen Hristov reports.

In the southeastern village of General Inzovo over 300 folklore lovers gathered today at the festival "From Palm Sunday to St. George's Day". The festival presents folk songs, dances, rituals and customs observed between the two major holidays, as our correspondent Daniela Kostova informs.

Catholics in Bulgaria celebrate Easter today. The faithful filled the Church of the Sacred Heart of Jesus in the town of Rakovski, home to the largest Catholic community in Bulgaria. 

Armenians are also celebrating Easter. In Silistra, however, they will celebrate it a week later in the oldest Armenian temple in Bulgaria, the 1620 St. Mary's Church, when a priest from Ruse will come to celebrate mass. Since the 1960s, the Armenians in Silistra have not had their own clergyman, BNR correspondent Nezabravka Kirova said. 



Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Weather forecast: Sun and wind on Saturday, temperatures plummet on Sunday

On Saturday minimum temperatures will range from 5° C. to 10° C., in parts of the lowlands and valleys 1-4° C., for Sofia around 4° C. The day will be sunny but also windy. Maximum temperatures 20-25° C., for Sofia around 20° C. In the evening the..

published on 11/1/24 6:15 PM

BNT celebrates 65th birthday with special programme

On 7 November, Bulgarian public service TV BNT is marking 65 years since it was founded, BNT has announced. “BNT is a symbol of trust, of high-value and sustainable tendencies. It is our public mission to preserve the Bulgarian identity with a..

published on 11/1/24 4:07 PM

Bulgarian Socialist Party urges prosecutor’s office to react promptly to reports of vote manipulation

  The numerous reports of vote manipulation, of rigging ballots, of adding votes, of vote-buying, of coercion and controlled voting which have been sweeping over the public domain following the election for parliament, call for an immediate answer by..

published on 11/1/24 3:24 PM