site.btaPresident Iotova Congratulates Veliko Tarnovo University on Saints Cyril and Methodius Feast Day

President Iliana Iotova congratulated students and professors of Veliko Tarnovo University on May 11, celebrated as the feast day of St Cyril and St Methodius, the university's patron saints.

Iotova emphasized that past and present meet in Veliko Tarnovo to open a path to the future. She highlighted the town's historic role as a spiritual and literary centre of Bulgaria and recalled the legacy of medieval monks who copied sacred texts. The President urged students to continue the tradition of preserving the Bulgarian literary tradition, stressing that language and faith are key to survival and cultural identity. She also emphasized that the Holy Brothers Cyril and Methodius gave the Slavic peoples not just an alphabet, but the right to exist in history.

Veliko Tarnovo University Rector Prof. Dimitar Dimitrov noted that civilization begins with writing and memory, and that the work of the Holy Brothers helped create a new cultural era in the late 9th century alongside Greek and Latin traditions, with medieval Tarnovo playing an important role in its development.

The celebration began with the laying of flowers at the monument to Saints Cyril and Methodius, followed by a religious procession with Metropolitan Gregory carrying their icon. The ceremony was attended by MPs, Mayor Daniel Panov, Municipal Council Chair Ventsislav Spirdonov and Regional Governor Valentin Mihaylov, among others.