A lesson on Bulgaria … with Sunday School "Tsar Simeon the Great" in Greece

Just a stone's throw from Bulgaria, but a whole culture and language away from the homeland - such is the reality for the hundreds of Bulgarians in Northern Greece. Many of them have settled in Bulgaria’s southern neighbour, moved their families, gave birth to their children there and gradually severed the living connection with their birthplace, which their descendants have often never even seen. Bulgarian Sunday schools are coming to the aid of these compatriots and in the hope that this process will not be irreversible. There are two of them in Northern Greece - the Bulgarian Sunday School "St. Ivan Rilski", with its six branches and the school "Tsar Simeon the Great" with branches in the village of Dikea and the town of Orestiada.

Dikea is located just 14 km away from the border with Bulgaria near Svilengrad, and the larger town of Orestiada is 50 km away. However, "we often feel our homeland as distant. Not because of the distance, but because of the border. As well as because of the different culture and customs and the different linguistic environment in which our students grow up," Diana Kymparis, founder and director of the Bulgarian Sunday School "Tsar Simeon the Great", told Radio Bulgaria. She herself knows how important proximity to one's mother's home is. After 11 years of living in Belgium, in 2016 Diana moved with her family to Greece, where she began to build her life from scratch with the thought of her homeland in mind. "Here I feel that I am closer to Bulgaria. This physical border has been reduced and this gives me inner peace that in a very short time I can go home," she says and adds that she crosses the border every month. For nine years now, she and her team have been working with children aged 5 to 18, teaching them three hours a week not only knowledge of the Bulgarian language and history, but also love for their own ethnic identity.

"Our goal is simple and at the same time very responsible - to shorten the distance between children and Bulgaria and thus help them build a sense of belonging to their roots," the school principal says.

During the 2025/26 school year, 53 students studied at „Tsar Simeon the Great“ Bulgarian Sunday School, and for most of them Bulgarian is not their first language, Diana Kymparis says and adds that this is the real challenge in the work of teachers like her abroad, as well as their greatest responsibility. Today, more than ever, Bulgarian children around the world need to get to know and love Bulgaria not only through the pictures and stories in textbooks, but in person. To understand that this country, which they learn and hear about from mom and dad, is real and is theirs. To feel its aroma, to see its colors, to immerse themselves in the streets and their noise, Diana Kymparis says. That is why she decided to apply for national programs of the Ministry of Education and Science and to have the opportunity to show her graduates the real Bulgaria.

In 2022 and 2023, with funding under the national program "Mother Language and Culture Abroad" module "Partnerships", two different groups from the "Tsar Simeon the Great" school visited the cities of Plovdiv, Haskovo, Sopot, Karlovo and Kalofer. In 2024 and 2025, already part of the National Program "Bulgaria - Educational Routes", they got to know Veliko Tarnovo and Sofia. The leader of the groups that visited Plovdiv and Veliko Tarnovo is Bulgarian language teacher at the Sunday school, Stefka Strakos, for whom the memories of the experience leave a very important mark on her profession.

"It was an unforgettable moment when we danced a Bulgarian horo with smiles, rhythm and a sense of community in the central squares of Sopot and Kalofer. The children were impressed by the greatness of the Bulgarian tsars, the heroic stories and the opportunity to see authentic historical places. I dare say that the common thing between the two trips is that both excursions showed how important it is for children growing up outside Bulgaria to have live contact with their homeland not only through textbooks, but also through experience. They returned inspired, with new friendships, with expanded horizons and with an even stronger motivation to learn Bulgarian."

"For some of the children, these were their first steps on Bulgarian soil," Diana Kymparis tells us. "I will never forget their excitement when they heard Bulgarian spoken everywhere around them and realized that Bulgaria was not just a story, but a real place that they could feel. Last year, we visited the city of Sofia, we visited the National History Museum, which gave them the opportunity to immerse themselves in the rich past of the country."

The children from the Bulgarian Sunday School "Tsar Simeon the Great" told about part of their experiences in photos and video, with which they participated in Radio Bulgaria's initiative "A Lesson on Bulgaria".

"We couldn't believe that these objects are so old! It's so interesting to see how people lived many years ago," eighth-grader Alexandros Theodosiu says.

Twelve-year-old Nicoleta Tsoutouridou remembers the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral with admiration:

"I've never seen such beauty anywhere else. Everything is so peaceful and beautiful."

"We also visited the Sofia Zoo, which turned out to be a real adventure for the children. They had never visited such a large zoo and were delighted to see the lions, monkeys, reptiles. The giraffes, elephants, and rhinos were the most interesting. They had never seen such large animals. But perhaps the most exciting feeling for them was the atmosphere of hearing Bulgarian all around them and feeling like part of something bigger. After the visit, Bulgaria became a real place, connected with personal emotions and personal memories. Especially for those born outside Bulgaria, like most of our students. This was the moment when Bulgaria stopped being something distant and began to feel like a homeland for them," Diana Kymparis says. Seventh-grader Maria Tsoutouridou also confirms this

"This trip was more than just an excursion. It was a lesson in patriotism, history and culture. We felt proud to be Bulgarians and grateful that we had the opportunity to experience all of this. We sincerely thank the Ministry of Education and Science and the organizers. We returned home enriched, inspired and even more connected to Bulgaria. This trip will remain in our hearts as a wonderful memory, filled with smiles, discoveries and new friendships."

See the other materials from our "A Lesson on Bulgaria" initiative:

A Lesson on Bulgaria… with the “Azbukarcheta” Bulgarian School in Spain

A Lesson on Bulgaria: Keeping the homeland alive for children in Ukraine

A Lesson on Bulgaria: How homeland inspires children of "Yan Bibiyan" School

A Lesson on Bulgaria: self-discovery at Rodolubie school in Naples

A Lesson on Bulgaria: Bulgarian children from Larnaca go to the Rhodopes and BNR

A Lesson on Bulgaria: Knowledge becomes shield for Bulgarian children in Skopje

A Lesson on Bulgaria... with the students of Hristo Botev School in Bratislava

A Lesson on Bulgaria… with the Abagar Bulgarian school in Rome, Italy

A Lesson on Bulgaria… with Rayna Knyaginya Bulgarian School in Burgos, Spain