site.btaMarch Held in Support of Introducing "Virtues and Religion" into Bulgaria’s School Curriculum

People gathered in central Sofia Saturday to take part in a peaceful march in support of introducing the subject “Virtues and Religion” into the regular curriculum of Bulgarian public schools. The initiative, backed by the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and supported by Bulgaria’s Ministry of Education, aims to reintroduce spiritual and ethical education to schoolchildren, nearly eight decades after religious instruction was removed from schools.

The march, led by His Holiness Patriarch Daniil, began at the square in front of the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral. Participants included clergy, educators, parents, students, and civic supporters from across the country.

In a speech following a special prayer service, Daniil emphasized the historical and cultural role of religious education in Bulgaria. “The Bulgarian school was born from the Church,” he declared. “Reintroducing this subject is not only a matter of faith but of restoring historical justice and reaffirming the moral foundation of our nation.”

The proposed subject, provisionally titled “Virtues and Religion,” would be offered as an elective course and taught by secular educators, not clergy. The curriculum would combine ethical and moral education with religious cultural literacy, with a focus on the values rooted in Bulgarian Orthodox Christianity. Students and families would have the option to choose between this subject and a course on secular ethics.

Supporters argue that such education is urgently needed in light of increasing social fragmentation and the erosion of traditional values. “If we do not sow the seeds of virtue in our children’s hearts, society will continue to experience moral decline,” said Patriarch Daniil.

Participants marched peacefully through key streets of Sofia, including Rakovski Street, Tsar Osvoboditel Boulevard, and past the Ministry of Education and Science, before concluding at St. Nedelya Square.  

A protest under the slogan "School is not a church" took place last Thursday outside the Ministry of Education and Science building in Sofia. The demonstration was organized in opposition to the proposed new "Virtues and Religion" subject.

"What worries us most is that this subject will divide rather than unite students, splitting them between religious and atheist perspectives," 19-year-old protest organizer Hristo Georgiev told reporters. "This kind of division has no place in a 21st-century school environment," he added.