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Patriarch Daniil to Celebrate Divine Liturgy at Rila Monastery Marking St. John of Rila’s Feast Day

bta.bg · 5h · first reportShare

Bulgarian Patriarch Daniil will celebrate a patriarchal Divine Liturgy at Rila Monastery on Tuesday to mark the Feast of the Dormition of St John the Miracle Worker of Rila. In 2026, the monastery is commemorating 1,080 years since the death of its founder and the heavenly patron saint of the Bulgarian people. The celebrations began on Monday evening with an all-night vigil in the monastery church. The main event of the feast day will be Tuesday’s patriarchal Divine Liturgy, dedicated to the memory of Bulgaria’s most revered saint. St. John of Rila is regarded as the heavenly protector of the Bulgarian people. He lived during the ninth and 10th centuries and is remembered as an example of spiritual perfection and an ascetic life. He was born in the village of Skrino in the Osogovo Mountains, near present-day Boboshevo, in the second half of the ninth century. From an early age, John devoted his life to the Christian faith and later settled as a hermit in the Rila Mountains, where he la