On August 18, the Holy Church celebrated the Dormition of the heavenly-glorified venerable and God-bearing Father, St. John of Rila the Wonderworker, the patron saint of the Bulgarian people.
On the occasion of the feast, with the blessing of Metropolitan Nikolai of Plovdiv, Bishop Polycarp of Belogradchik, the Metropolitan’s first vicar, presided over the Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at the Church of St. John of Rila the Wonderworker in Plovdiv.
Concelebrating with Bishop Polycarp were Archimandrite Maxim, diocesan spiritual overseer; Archimandrite Euthymios; Protopresbyter-Dean Dejan Stoenchev, spiritual overseer of the Plovdiv Metropolis; Father Lazar Lazarov; Metropolitan Protodeacon Ilian Alexandrov; and Deacon Kaloyan Mindev. Liturgical hymns were beautifully chanted by the Metropolitan Choir “St. Apostle Herm” under the direction of Protopsalt Georgi Radev.
The faithful filled the church in Plovdiv’s Karshiyaka district, joining in prayer with great reverence and devotion. Together, they confessed the Creed, recited the Lord’s Prayer with one heart and one voice, and offered fervent supplications to Almighty God and to St. John of Rila, so deeply beloved by every Orthodox Bulgarian.
At the conclusion of the service, Bishop Polycarp delivered an inspired sermon on the saint’s ascetic struggle and his unceasing protection over the Bulgarian nation. He conveyed the archpastoral greetings and blessings of Metropolitan Nikolai of Plovdiv to the congregation, extending heartfelt congratulations on the feast.
The celebration concluded with the chanting of a polychronion (Many Years) proclaimed by Protodeacon Ilian Alexandrov, filling the church with joy and gratitude for the heavenly intercession of St. John of Rila.
Source: Patriarchate of Bulgaria
