News - Poland, Warsaw, Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria

On May 13, 2024, at the Public Library of Warsaw/Main Library of the Masovian Voivodeship/, the Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria Margarita Ganeva opened the phototype exhibition "Miraculous Icons and Holy Relics of the Balkans".

The exhibition is part of the program of the State Cultural Institute under the Minister of Foreign Affairs, implemented jointly with the Center for Slavic-Byzantine Studies "Prof. Ivan Duychev" at the Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski" and consists of 24 panels presenting churches and monasteries in which miraculous icons and holy relics are kept, the history of each monastery, the legendary biography of each miraculous icon and the customs associated with the temple holidays and the holidays of the saints whose relics are kept in them.

The exhibition is being shown for the first time in Poland, with the translation of the text into Polish 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 translation.

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. Bartholomew Balzerczyk, Head of the Representation of the European Commission in Poland, Mr. Rafal Domiszywicz, Deputy Director of the Directorate for European Policy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Poland, representatives of the diplomatic corps and cultural and scientific circles, including the famous Polish writer of Bulgarian origin Ms. 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 Ms. Dorota Lyutomirska, Deputy Director of the Public Library of Warsaw/Main Library of the Masovian Voivodeship/, Ms. Margarita Ganeva, Ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria to the Republic of Poland, Ms. Snezhana Ioveva-Dimitrova, Director of the State Institute of Culture under the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Prof. Georgi Minchev, curator of the Polish edition of the exhibition.

In her speech, Ambassador Ganeva pointed out that in May, Bulgarians celebrate several important holidays – Europe Day, 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 styles. The Ambassador emphasized that with today's celebration we are building a historical bridge between these dates, important not only for the Bulgarian people, but also for all Europeans. With the opening of this exhibition - an event closely related to the European idea, to 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 to the European Parliament, the Bulgarian Embassy would like to emphasize the importance of the European idea for all citizens of Europe, to confirm the importance of the process of European integration for all our neighbors from the Balkans, who have expressed a clear desire and sincere sympathy in their capacity as candidate countries for accession to the EU.

The official part of the event ended with a concert by the Cathedral Choir of the Orthodox Church "St. Mary Magdalene" in Warsaw, which performed Easter church hymns and hymns and troparia dedicated to St. Cyril and Methodius.

The exhibition "Miraculous Icons and Holy Relics of the Balkans" at 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.