site.btaGermany Hosts Events Commemorating St Methodius, Anticipating Bulgaria's Alphabet Day and Showcasing Bulgarian Folklore

A variety of events in Germany marking the Feast Day of St Methodius, anticipating Bulgaria's Alphabet Day and showcasing Bulgarian folklore were held on Friday and Saturday.

May 16

A Bulgarian delegation visited the German town of Ellwangen for observances of the Feast Day of St Methodius.

Metropolitan Anthony of Western and Central Europe officiated a thanksgiving service in St Vitus Basilica in Ellwangen. He said Bulgaria offers prayerful remembrance "with eternal gratitude to the great enlightener". He also said that "a people that honours its saints and preserves their work remains alive and unshaken through the centuries".

The delegation was led by the Bulgarian Consul General in Munich, Stefan Ionkov. It included Milena Dimitrova, the President's Secretary for Culture, Education and Relations with Bulgarians Abroad; Kiril Valchev, Director General of the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA); the two deputy mayors of the town of Troyan, Nikolay Raykovski and Veronika Todorova; journalists and staff from the Bulgarian Consulate General in Munich; as well as representatives of the Bulgarian community in Germany.

The Bulgarian delegation visited the Bulgarian chapel dedicated to St Cyril and St Methodius in Ellwangen. Attending were Metropolitan Anthony of Western and Central Europe; Archpriest Rayko Sinev from the Bulgarian parish of Sts Cyril and Methodius in Stuttgart; Archpriest Nedyalko Kalinov of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church Community in Munich; Archpriest Tichon, head of the Bulgarian Orthodox church community in Regensburg; and Archpriest Vasil Bechevski, who provides spiritual care for the Bulgarian parishes in Mannheim and Mainz. The clergy performed the Troparion of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius and, together with the members of the delegation, paid tribute to the work of the holy brothers.

A Tree of Friendship between Bulgaria, the German State of Baden-Wuerttemberg and the town of Ellwangen was symbolically planted by the town's mayor, Michael Dambacher, and the Consul General of Bulgaria in Munich, Stefan Ionkov.

The Bulgarian delegation joined a wreath-laying ceremony at the plaque of St Methodius on Methodius Square in the town of Ellwangen. From the Bulgarian side, wreaths were laid by the Consulate General in Munich and by the Municipality of Troyan. At the end of the ceremony, the popular song "Varvi, narode vazrodeni" ("March On, People Revived") was sung in Bulgarian. It is an anthem of the Bulgarians' enlightenment commemorating the creation of the Slav alphabet by St Cyril and St Methodius in the 9th century.

May 15

Late on May 15, the Consulate General of Bulgaria in Munich hosted a formal reception on the occasion of the Day of the Holy Brothers Cyril and Methodius, the Bulgarian Alphabet, Education and Culture and Slavic Literature, May 24. The event was dedicated to the Bulgarian Sunday schools within the consular district of the Consulate General in Munich - the provinces of Bavaria and Baden-Wuerttemberg - as well as to their principals, teachers, students, parents and donors.

As part of the Expats Join Hands in Worldwide Dance folklore festival, which opened in Munich on May 15, BTA signed two partnership agreements for coverage of various activities, initiatives and events.

The agreement with the Ot Izvora Association of Lyon, France, was signed by  BTA Director General Kiril Valchev and Ot Izvora Association Director Anita Ekenova, who is also the initiator of the Expats Join Hands in Worldwide Dance travelling festival.

Under an agreement, signed by Valchev and Radoslava Nedyalkova, Chair of the Association of Bulgarian Folklore Ensembles Abroad (ABFEA), BTA becomes a media partner for the marking and on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of ABFEA's establishment, which falls in 2026.