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

Water blessing ceremony of the Bulgarian Army Flags to take place on Epiphany

President Radev at the water blessing ceremony in central Sofia on Epiphany (archive)
Photo: president.bg

On January 6, the feast of Epiphany, the traditional water blessing of the battle flags and holy flags of the Bulgarian Army will be celebrated in all garrisons of the country. The solemn ritual in Sofia will begin at 11:00 in front of the Monument to the Unknown Soldier. 

The water blessing ceremony will be held by His Holiness the Bulgarian Patriarch and Metropolitan of Sofia Daniil. 

The ceremony will be attended by the Bulgarian President and Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Rumen Radev, who will accept the honorary formation of the representative units of the Bulgarian Army and lay a wreath in front of the Monument to the Unknown Soldier. Vice President Iliana Iotova, Minister of Defense Atanas Zapryanov and Chief of Defense Admiral Emil Eftimov will also be present.



For the first time, the blessing of the battle flags was performed during the reign of Tsar Simeon I before the Battle of Aheloy in 917. Until the fall of Bulgaria under Ottoman rule, the blessing of the flags was performed before every battle fought by the Bulgarian army. 

After the Liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman rule in 1878, the tradition was restored by the first military minister of the Principality of Bulgaria, Pyotr Dmitrievich Parensov, and continued until 1946, the Ministry of Defense indicates. After the fall of Communism in Bulgaria, the ritual was restored in 1993.


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

Cadets from Vietnam are training at the Air Force Academy in Dolna Mitropolia

Cadets from Vietnam are training at the Georgi Benkovski Air Force Academy in Dolna Mitropolia. This year they will study Bulgarian, after which their flight training will begin. This was what the head of the school, Brigadier General..

published on 1/6/25 3:57 PM

People in Kalofer pay respect to revolutionary and poet Hristo Botev

On January 6, Epiphany, Bulgarians celebrate 177 years since the birth of poet and revolutionary Hristo Botev. On this occasion, the atmosphere in Kalofer - Botev's hometown, is special, Dimitar Vladimirov from Radio Plovdiv has..

published on 1/6/25 3:45 PM

President Radev gives parties time until January 13 to agree on a cabinet

The President has postponed the handing over of the first exploratory mandate for forming a government to GERB until January 13. Before the Epiphany ceremony in Sofia, Rumen Radev announced that the parliament should adopt a..

published on 1/6/25 1:07 PM