The Exhibition "Miraculous Icons and Holy Relics of the Balkans" Visits the Ca’ Foscari University in Venice on the occasion of May 24
An International Forum dedicated to the Bulgarian culture and heritage of Saints Cyril and Methodius, patrons of Europe entitled "Bulgaria for Europe’s Changing Future" will be held on May 24 at Ca’ Foscari University in Venice.
Lecturers in the forum will be Maria Gabriel (EU Commissioner for Innovation, Research,
Culture, Education and Youth), Georgi Gospodinov (Bulgarian writer, winner of the Strega Europeo literary award 2021), Teodora Dimova (Bulgarian writer), Prof. Georgi Kapriev (Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”), Prof. Aksinia Dzhurova (Bulgarian Academy of Sciences) and others.
The event will also feature one of the traveling exhibitions of the State Cultural Institute under the Minister of Foreign Affairs "Miraculous Icons and Holy Relics of the Balkans", established in partnership with the Center for Slavic-Byzantine Studies "Prof. Ivan Duychev" at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”.
Icons are one of the emblems of Orthodoxy and an integral part of the decoration of the Christian church from ancient times. In this exhibition, 24 panels show churches and monasteries in which miraculous icons and holy relics are kept as precious relics.
The concept, in addition to a number of Bulgarian monasteries, includes photos and valuable information from Vatopedi Monastery and Iversky Monastery - Greece, Studenitsa Monastery - Serbia, Savina Monastery - Montenegro, Monastery "St. John Vladimir ”near Elbasan - Albania, Bigorski Monastery - Republic of North Macedonia.
The exhibition briefly describes the history of each monastery, the legendary biography of each miraculous icon and the customs associated with the temple holidays and the feasts of the saints whose relics are stored in them.
The exhibition has so far visited Skopje, the Republic of North Macedonia, Belgrade, the Republic of Serbia, the city of Midrand, the Republic of South Africa, Geneva and Sofia, and was also part of the program of the 16th World Meeting of Bulgarian Media in Rila monastery and the town of Kyustendil in October 2021.