The Exhibition "Alphabet and History" Opened at the National Library
On April 4, two documentary exhibitions were officially opened at the National Library "St. Cyril and Methodius" - "Alphabet and History" - part of the program of the State Institute for Culture under the Minister of Foreign Affairs and "St. Methodius Slavonic Bulgarian" with archival documents from the library's collection.
The event is dedicated to the celebration of 1140 years since the death of St. Methodius and a special guest, under whose patronage it is held, was Mrs. Iliyana Yotova - Vice President of the Republic of Bulgaria, who congratulated the numerous audience - diplomats, professors, students.
The event was co-organized by the State Institute for Culture, with the director Snezhana Yoveva-Dimitrova and head of department Iliyan Lolugov.
This year, the National Library began holding a number of events under the title “Year of the Glagolitic”, as noted by the library’s director, Assoc. Prof. Kalina Ivanova, in her opening speech.
In her official address, Vice President Iliana Yotova pointed out:
“Today is a great day for all of us, because we will officially declare 2025 the year of the Glagolitic, together with the National Library.” She noted that Bulgarians are obliged to the memory of our first teachers, apostles, to continue the knowledge and understanding of them. “The Glagolitic is, above all, that important sign for all of us of our first writing, thanks to which we unite as a people. Thanks to this writing and later the Cyrillic alphabet, Bulgaria and the then great empire became not only territorial, but also a spiritual empire. A civilization was created, sustainable to this day for all Slavic peoples. We are becoming the basis for literacy in the Slavic world, a matrix for recognizing a rich spirituality and culture,” said the Vice President.
In 2025, the 1160th anniversary of the baptism of the Bulgarian state will be celebrated. “In fact, this act and the creation of writing are the basis for the formation of Bulgarian statehood,” she added and expressed gratitude to all the organizers of this event, as well as to the media partners – BTA, BNR and BNT.
Prof. Aksiinya Dzhurova made a special statement about the exhibition - “The exhibition “Alphabet and History” presents the role of the alphabet in the cultural history of the Slavic peoples and of writing as the basis of the historical memory of humanity. We do not know who and when first transformed the ephemeral human speech into a system of graphic signs with which to immortalize it and save it from oblivion. However, by historical coincidence, the Slavs are among the few peoples who not only know when their alphabet was invented, but also know the life and work of its creators – the Thessaloniki enlighteners and Slavic apostles Constantine-Cyril the Philosopher and Methodius, whose ascension we celebrate this year 1140 years ago. This exhibition is dedicated to their spiritual feat. It is also an attempt to reveal the importance of writing for the preservation of national identity and for cultural interaction between Slavic peoples. Together with Prof. Kazimir Popkonstantinov, she is a consultant for the exhibition “Alphabet and History”, and the author is Prof. Vasya Velinova. ”
"In 24 panels, the stages of the development of the two Slavic alphabets – the Glagolitic and the Cyrillic – and the key place of the First and Second Bulgarian Kingdoms in the formation of the Cyrillic alphabet as a pan-Slavic writing system in the Middle Ages are presented to the curious public. Special attention is paid to the fact that without the Glagolitic alphabet, the improvement of the Cyrillic alphabet to a full-fledged Slavic alphabet was unthinkable," explained Prof. Djurova. The exhibition is presented jointly with the State Institute for Culture under the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Ivan Duychev Center for Slavic-Byzantine Studies at Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" and the “Elena and Ivan Duychevi” Foundation.
In the other exhibition "St. Methodius Slavic Bulgarian", documents related to the memory and importance of St. Methodius for the Bulgarian people and the Slavic world can be seen. "One document is a manuscript from the 13th century, first half, which represents an elected apostle and contains readings, doxologies, parts of the service for St. Methodius, written by Konstantin Preslavski. The other document is "Stematografija" by Hristofor Zhefarovic. The book is part of the political project of the Pec Patriarch Arseniy IV Jovanovic for the liberation of the Slavic peoples. There, Methodius is listed next to Archbishop Sava of Serbia. All the spiritual and secular figures who are presented in "Stematografija" aim to unite the Slavic peoples, to give them courage and strength to rise up against their enslavers," explained to BTA the author of the exhibition, Dr. Boyana Mincheva, head of the "Preservation of Manuscript and Documentary Heritage" department at the National Library.
The exhibitions can be viewed until April 14.