On October 26, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church marks the Day of Great Martyr St. Demetrius of Thessaloniki, considered one of the greatest saints. In Bulgaria, his name is also associated with the restoration of the Second Bulgarian Tsardom in the 12th century when Bulgarian boyars and brothers Asen and Petar announced in Tarnovgrad that they no longer recognize Byzantine authority. This happened on the holiday of the church they built in honor of St. Demetrius (St. Dimitar). On the same day, the saint was proclaimed the spiritual protector of the Bulgarians. The saint has been much revered in Bulgaria since then and and his holy relics in Thessaloniki are an object of worship for many Christians from all over the world.

In 1993 St. Dimitar was declared the spiritual patron of the city of Vidin. The "St. Dimitar" cathedral in the city is the second largest temple in Bulgaria after "St. Alexander Nevsky" in Sofia.

Its construction began in 1884 with the blessing and active assistance of Vidin Metropolitan Antim I, as the citizens got involved with voluntary donations and work. The construction was according to the plan of master builder Gencho Kanev from Tryavna, supplemented by Italian architect Bahnani. Construction works continued until 1926.

"Then the temple was consecrated and the first holy liturgy was performed,” the chairman of the cathedral, Archimandrite Samuil, said in an interview with Radio Bulgaria. “The magnificence of the temple reveals the attitude of the people of that time towards the good deed. All people got involved with voluntary work and built their Home. This is the most important thing - the Home of the people. If we look at the temple of God as our home, then everything changes in life. It is not by chance that many churches make ritual meals on this day in order to help someone."

According to Archimandrite Samuil, this is exactly what St. Demetrius of Thessaloniki did - he helped people in need. Before he was tortured for his faith, he gave away his property to the poor and after his death he continued to help all who turned to him with fervent prayers. "Unfortunately, nowadays people turn to God mostly when they have great difficulties," Archimandrite Samuil says and adds:

"Although it seems that we are all free now and can turn to God and pray from the heart, prayer often comes when the great difficulties and problems come. These are my observations. Then people turn to God and of course also on big holidays. On St. Demetrius Day, on Resurrection Day, we want to go and pray. This is good but if we could direct our thoughts to the Creator in our everyday lives, this would be most useful for us."

Therefore, Archimandrite Samuil invites the Orthodox Christians to regularly attend the Holy Liturgy, during which the greatest sacrament is performed - the Eucharist, bequeathed by Jesus Christ at the Last Supper. The archimandrite wishes the people of Vidin to return to their roots from the times when Vidin played an important role in the cultural and educational activities of the country.

Publication in English: Alexander Markov

Photos: Vidin Metropolis, BTA