site.btaPresident Radev and Patriarch Daniil Launch Nationwide Journey of Faith Pilgrimage Network

A nationwide pilgrimage initiative, A Journey of Faith, was launched in Sofia on Friday by Bulgaria’s President Rumen Radev and Bulgarian Orthodox Church Patriarch Daniil.

Opening with the 120 km Miracle Worker of Rila trail, the project retraces the 1469 translation of St John of Rila’s relics from the Rotunda of St George in the capital to the mountain monastery that bears his name. Nearly 200 pilgrims, among them entire families and the mayors of Samokov, Dupnitsa and Sapareva Banya, set off after a patriarchal liturgy at the St Sophia Church and are expected to reach the Rila Monastery early next week.

Held under the auspices of the President and blessed by the Church, the initiative is organized with the Bulgarian Tourist Union, Sofia University’s Faculty of Theology, Sofia Municipality and Samokov Municipality. It aims to link Bulgaria’s sacred sites in a network of walking routes that will encourage spiritual reflection while showcasing the country’s history, culture and natural landscapes.

“I would like to congratulate His Holiness Patriarch Daniil on the launch of the initiative A Journey of Faith. I am confident that beyond this traditional pilgrimage route to the Rila Monastery, we will have new trails that will connect and unite all of Bulgaria,” Radev said.

“This trail is not easy, because it passes through steep terrain, sometimes participants sleep in tents, and the food is not as readily available as we are used to. But all who have undertaken this pilgrimage have found meaning in the fasting, in the prayer, they see the spiritual results within themselves,” Daniil said.

“We hope it will develop even further and attract tourists,” Sofia Deputy Mayor for Finance and Healthcare Ivan Vasilev said.

St John of Rila is revered as the heavenly protector of the Bulgarian people, as the first and greatest founder of hermit monasticism, a spiritual father and teacher of the faith. After the saint's death, his relics were first transferred to Sofia, later to Tarnovo, where they remained until the city fell to Ottoman rule in 1393. In 1469, at the initiative of the monks at the Rila Monastery, the holy relics were solemnly returned to the monastery, where they remain to this day.