“I believe that next year we will finish the technical work on strengthening the building of the former Ayazmoto restaurant, after which we will move on to the creation of the Museum of the metropolitans,” said His Eminence Metropolitan Cyprian of Stara Zagora during his traditional meeting with media representatives days before Christmas.
The Metropolitan recalled that in 2022, two commemorative anniversaries were honored – 100 years since the death of Metropolitan Methodius Kusev and 120 years since the consecration of the Nativity of Christ Church-monument. The repair works on the restoration of the belfry and the building of the Seminary complex were completed.
Three new churches were consecrated. In the Metropolis of Stara Zagora, a Deacon’s organization was established, which includes deacons from Stara Zagora, Kazanlak and Chirpan. For the third year in a row, a conference of Orthodox youth in Bulgaria was held, organized by the Holy Annunciation Youth Association of the Metropolis of Stara Zagora. For its part, the metropolis provides scholarships to four students studying at the Plovdiv Theological Seminary. Two female students from Nova Zagora, who are studying at the Faculty of Medicine of Thrace University, were also financially supported. The donation campaign for the purchase of equipment necessary for the work of the Complex Oncology Center in Stara Zagora was also successfully completed.
During the current school year, over 2,000 children study religion – in kindergartens, sunday schools and high schools. The Metropolitan expressed his satisfaction with the resumption of classes at the Music School of the Metropolis. Over 50 children are educated there for free. Some of the graduates are an integral part of the liturgies, in which the metropolitan choir, led by conductor Maria Denkova, participates with church chants.
The children’s magazine “Divine Sparks” and the adult magazine “Our Faith” continue to be published. The publication of akathist books and prayer books is pending, opportunities are being sought to adapt them for the blind, announced the head of the Department of Education, Father Jordan Karageorgiev.
Metropolitan Cyprian expressed satisfaction and gratitude for the partnership relations with the institutions, both at the local level and throughout the diocese.
After his meeting with the media representatives, the metropolitan welcomed the talented ballet dancer Kircho Zhelyazkov to the residence, whom he personally supported in his dream of ballet training abroad. Accompanied by his teachers at National School of Music and Performing Arts “Hristina Morfova”-Stara Zagora, Kremena Kostova-Gaidarova and Stanko Tanev, the young man shared his impressions of his one-year stay in the ballet company “Balleto di Siena”-Italy under the leadership of the distinguished choreographer Marco Bati, as and his future creative plans.
Editors Note: Doxologia Infonews welcomes and congratulates the above initiatives and actions of His Eminence Metropolitan Cyprian of Stara Zagora and his team. It also encourages the other metropolitans in Bulgarian Orthodox Church to take an example, more specifically in terms of charitable work. We celebrate the good work of the head of Metropolis of Stara Zagora and thank God for his Christian humane ministry. It is important to note that Metropolitan Cyprian is the first and only Bulgarian hierarch who really condemned the war against Ukraine and pointed to Russia as the aggressor. None of the metropolitans showed such courage and did not make an unequivocal statement, as did the Metropolitan of Stara Zagora. You can read the metropolitan’s condemnation statement in Bulgarian here.
