Bulgarians in Budapest honor Saints Cyril and Methodius with festive liturgy

With great joy, Bulgarians in Budapest celebrate May 11 – the day on which the Bulgarian Orthodox Church honors the memory of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles and enlighteners Cyril and Methodius. The Thessaloniki brothers, creators of the first Slavic alphabet – the Glagolitic script – are chosen as the heavenly patrons of the Bulgarian Orthodox church in the capital of Hungary.

On this occasion, on the eve of the feast – on May 10 – a solemn Divine Liturgy will be celebrated in the church of Sts. Cyril and Methodius. The service will be led by His Eminence Metropolitan Anthony of Western and Central Europe.

The history of the Bulgarian church in Budapest dates back to May 31, 1931, when its foundation stone was laid by Metropolitan Boris of Nevrokop, then Bishop of Stobi. A year later, the church was officially consecrated. The land for its construction was donated by the Budapest municipality, and the funds were raised entirely by the Bulgarian community in Hungary.

Built in the Byzantine style, the church impresses with its large dome and architecture inspired by the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia and the church of the Bachkovo Monastery. To this day, it remains the only Byzantine- style church building in the Hungarian capital, and the only church in the Western and Central European Diocese of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church built specifically for this purpose. For more than nine decades, it has served as a spiritual center for Bulgarians in Hungary.

Edited by Alexandra Karamihaleva

Translated by Kostadin Atanasov