The exhibition "Miraclous Icons and Holy Relics of the Balkans" visits Warsaw within the framework of Europe Week
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In the month of May, the State Cultural Institute presents its mobile expositions in Warsaw within the framework of various international events and spaces at the invitation of the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria and the Cultural Institute in the Polish capital.
On May 13, 2024, the Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria Margarita Ganeva and the Director of the State Cultural Institute Snezhana Joveva-Dimitrova opened the phototype exhibition "Miracle Icons and Holy Relics of the Balkans", translated into Polish, at the Warsaw Public Library.
The exhibition is part of the program of the State Cultural Institute under the Minister of Foreign Affairs, realized jointly with the Center for Slavic-Byzantine Studies "Prof. Ivan Duychev" at SU "St. Kliment Ohridski" and consists of 24 panels representing churches and monasteries where miracle-working icons and holy relics are kept, the history of each monastery, the legendary biography of each miracle-working icon and the customs related to the temple holidays and the holidays of the saints whose relics are stored in them.
The exhibition is shown for the first time in Poland, with the translation into Polish of the text and the curator of the Polish edition of the exhibition being Prof. Georgi Minchev, a Bulgarian scholar from the University of Lodz. A team of his students also participated in the realization of the translation, who were present and got acquainted with all the stories in the panel.
The event was jointly organized by the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in the Republic of Poland, the Bulgarian Cultural Institute in Warsaw and the State Cultural Institute at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and was part of the "Europe Week" program in Warsaw, initiated by the Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium, within the framework of the Belgian Presidency of the Council of the EU.
The opening was attended by numerous guests, including Mr. Bartolomej Balcerczyk, Head of the Representation of the European Commission in Poland, Mr. Rafal Domiśiewicz, Deputy Director of the European Policy Directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland, representatives of the diplomatic corps and the cultural and scientific circles, including the famous Polish writer of Bulgarian origin Mrs. Albena Grabowska, representatives of the Polish Autocephalous Orthodox Church, participants in the "Action Diplomacy" initiative of the Student Scientific Circle on Foreign Affairs of the University of Economics - Warsaw, Polish friends of Bulgaria.
During the opening ceremony, speeches were made by Mrs. Dorota Lutomirska, Deputy Director of the Public Library of Warsaw/Main Library of the Masovian Voivodeship/, Mrs. Margarita Ganeva, Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria to the Republic of Poland, Mrs. Snezhana Joveva-Dimitrova , director of the State Cultural Institute under the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof. Georgi Minchev, curator of the Polish edition of the exhibition.
In his speech, Ambassador Ganeva pointed out that in the month of May, Bulgarians celebrate several important holidays - the Day of Europe, as well as the Day of the holy brothers Cyril and Methodius, designated as co-patrons of Europe by Pope John Paul II, in the old and new style . The ambassador pointed out that with today's celebration we are building a historical bridge between these dates, which are important not only for the Bulgarian people, but also for all Europeans. With the opening of the present exhibition - an event that has a close connection with the European idea, with the depth of the European heritage, values and traditions, held under the auspices of the Belgian Presidency of the European Council and on the eve of the upcoming elections for the European Parliament, the Bulgarian Embassy would like to to emphasize the importance of the European idea for all citizens of Europe, to confirm the importance of the European integration process for all our neighbors from the Balkans, who have expressed a clear desire and frank empathy in their capacity as candidate countries to join the EU.
In her welcome, Mrs. Joveva thanked the organizers and hosts and highlighted the success of the exhibition, which has been visited in many European and world capitals, universities and galleries.
The official part of the event ended with a concert by the Cathedral Choir of the Orthodox Church "St. Mary Magdalene" in Warsaw, who performed Easter church chants and hymns and troparia dedicated to St. St. Cyril and Methodius.
The exhibition "Miracle Icons and Holy Relics of the Balkans" in the Public Library of Warsaw will last for one month, after which it will be presented on the fence of the Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria in Warsaw, where at the moment is displayed the exposition "The Ancient Treasures of Bulgaria".