Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

Transition to Lent starts on Meat Shrovetide

Photo: BTA

Always on Sunday, eight weeks before Easter, Orthodox Christians mark Mesni Zagovezni or Meat Shrovetide. During the liturgy, the Church recalls the image of the Last Judgment through the texts in the Holy Scriptures. The themes of sinfulness and retribution in the afterlife are touched upon there, therefore the call to the faithful is to detach themselves from the daily grind and devote themselves to good deeds during the lent.

The day is marked in a family circle, as meat dishes (usually chicken or rooster) are present at the festive table. It is the last day before Lent, when it is allowed to eat meat. In folk traditions, this is also the last Sunday, during which young people can gather for dances and singing.



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

Priest Lyubomir Bratoev

Priest Lyubomir Bratoev in Berlin: The first liturgies in Bulgarian were served at the embassy building

Priest Lyubomir Bratoev is a direct participant in the events of t he founding of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church community in Berlin . He came to the capital of East Germany in the late 1980s as a doctoral student. And, like a typical Orthodox Christian..

published on 2/26/25 8:15 AM

The Church of St. John of Rila – a piece of Bulgaria in London

After nearly 35 years, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church Community in London has its own church in the central part of the British capital, in close proximity to the Bulgarian Embassy. There, in the prestigious Kensington district, next to Hyde Park and..

published on 2/24/25 3:05 PM
Patriarch Daniil

The new Orthodox Church "St. John of Rila" in London opens doors

Meatfare Sunday in 2025 will be remembered as a major celebration for the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the entire Bulgarian community in the United Kingdom. The "St. John of Rila" Orthodox Church, built with funds from the Bulgarian state and with..

published on 2/23/25 5:13 PM