site.btaSupport for Bulgarian Sunday Schools in Ukraine Is Support for Education, Consul General in Odesa Says

Supporting Bulgarian Sunday schools in Ukraine means supporting the country’s educational system and the Bulgarian schools themselves, said Bulgaria’s Consul General in Odesa Svetoslav Ivanov. He addressed the audience at the final concert in a series of performances by Bulgarian singer Ilia Lukov in Moldova and Ukraine marking the Day of the Bessarabian Bulgarians (October 29) and the Day of the National Awakeners (November 1).

Lukov’s concerts, held under the title Ilia Lukov and the Talents of Bessarabia – 30 Years of Songs with Love, are organized at the initiative of the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) with the assistance of the Consulate General of Bulgaria in Odesa. Lukov's participation is pro bono. The event is also part of the Week of Bulgarian Culture in Odesa.

Ivanov said that this year, on the initiative of the Consulate General and in cooperation with Bulgaria’s Ministry of Education and Science, two qualification courses were organized for Bulgarian language teachers from Ukraine.

"All of this is a source of pride. I want to express my deep respect to you because you preserve Bulgarian roots and historical memory far from the homeland," he said, adding that "together we will continue to preserve the Bulgarian spirit and traditions."

He highlighted Bulgaria’s continued support for Ukraine in the context of the war with Russia and noted that Education Minister Krasimir Valchev had sent a congratulatory address to the Bessarabian Bulgarians and to the network of Bulgarian Sunday schools in Ukraine - the second largest in the world after Spain’s.

"For the 2025–2026 school year, Bulgaria oversees 49 Bulgarian Sunday schools in Ukraine," Ivanov said, quoting Minister Valchev’s message, which praised teachers for "their dedication in teaching children in Bulgarian and introducing them to our history, literature, and traditions."

The Consul General emphasized that Sunday school teachers abroad are modern-day enlighteners - "people who keep Bulgarian knowledge and the sense of identity alive among the younger generation of Bessarabian Bulgarians."