Volunteers from Bulgaria to depart for Zograf Monastery on April 18

A group of volunteers, the so-called harizani (that is, people who donate their labor), will leave on April 18 for Zograf Monastery for one week, the online publication Dveri na Pravoslavieto reported.

Monastic volunteering, or harizanstvo, is a very old tradition that has been revived in Bulgaria. As for Zograf Monastery, it was revived after the easing of travel to Greece and especially after Bulgaria joined the European Union. The monastery provides food and accommodation for the volunteers, while the abbot or the first epitropos of the monastery - who is responsible for its economic affairs - assigns them work tasks. Volunteers must be of suitable age and health condition for such work.

The current group will likely also help prepare rooms for the hundreds of pilgrims who will visit Zograf for the feast of Saint George.

Editor: Miglena Ivanova