From 23 to 25 September 2022, with the blessing of the BOC in the face of Metropolitan Naum of Ruse and with the financial support of the entrepreneur Mr. Nikola Nikolov, 50 people from Razgrad and Ruse together with the Razgrad Church Choir, we made a journey – worship of the relics of St. Petka in the Romanian city of Iasi. We visited the painted monasteries in Bukovina – a UNESCO World Heritage Site, as well as Neamţ County, with some of the largest monastery complexes in Romania.

What started in the early hours of the 23rd trip was organized by the chorister Irina Bakardzhieva – a graduate of the College of Tourism – Varna and SA – Svishtov and is the result of many years of preparation, inspired by the life of St. Nicholas. Petka and the miraculous power of her relics. In the 10th and 11th centuries, St. Paraskeva, known in Bulgaria more as Paraskeva or Petka Balgarska (Tarnovo), is revered by many Orthodox peoples and over the centuries her relics have been preserved and transported from her native Epivat near the Marmorno Sea, through Tarnovo, Vidin, Belgrade, Constantinople to the Principality of Moldova, currently part of Romania.

Iaşi welcomed us in the afternoon with the wonderful Palace of Culture – a building from the beginning of the 19th century with exquisite architecture and a beautiful park, housing four museums – Art, Historical, Ethnographic and Scientific. The city – the second largest in Romania with a population of about 500 thousand. is one of the leading centers of Romanian social, cultural, academic and artistic life, and is known as the cultural capital of Romania. Between 1916 and 1918 Iaşi was the capital of Romania and has over 100 historical buildings, many churches and monasteries.

A walking walk in the central part took us to the Temple “St. Three Saints” where in 1641, thanks to one of the most prominent Moldavian princes – Basil Lupo were transferred the relics of St. Nicholas. Petka. An interesting detail is that he was born in Bey-arnautlar or Golyamo Arbanassi, and today Poroishte near Razgrad. We were impressed by the former Rosnovanu Palace, which today houses the City Hall of Iasi, the National Theater “Vasile Alexandri”, built in 1896 in the neoclassical style – one of the oldest and most elegant national theaters in the country, the Grand Hotel “Trajan”, designed and built in the 19th century by the French architect Gustave Eiffel. Historical facts and curious stories about each of the sites were told by two local guides – students of geography and tourism. We owe our gratitude to Kiril Dzhurov, whose high culture and education contributed to the full-fledged translation from English. The streets of the city were filled with young people, which is not surprising – there are as many as 5 universities in Iasi.

On the sunny morning of the second day , we headed to the Metropolitan Cathedral of Iasi, where for almost 400 years the relics of St. John the Baptist Michaels have been preserved. Petka, patroness of Bulgaria, Serbia and Moldova and attract crowds of pilgrims, especially on her holiday – October 14 (Petkovden). With the sparkling whiteness of its Baroque charm, the temple attracted worshippers for the Holy Liturgy. The ark of relics was opened, and each of us had the opportunity to bow down before them and pray.

Going out onto the main street, the bell ringing intertwined with the song of the fountains in front of the City Hall and created a festive mood – by a happy coincidence, our companion Persiana celebrated a birthday. With great excitement, in one of the monasteries, the choir greeted her with “Many summers”.

With high spirits, we headed to the Bukovina region, where eight Byzantine-era monasteries are located, famous for their beautiful, colorful frescoes with stories from the Bible that adorn their walls inside and out.

In the Voronets Monastery, founded in 1488, widely known as the “Sistine Chapel of the East”, we were warmly welcomed and given the unique opportunity for the choristers of the Razgrad church choir to perform several songs. Led by Milena Makaveeva and with the participation of their longtime conductor Maestro Krasen Ivanov, the singers provided us with an extremely emotional, touching and purifying experience that did not leave anyone indifferent. It was as if by God’s will we had come to this temple, where they honored the memory of their mother who left 6 months ago – Abbess Irina, namesake of our leader. In her memory, the song was performed…

After a short break we headed to Humour – a small but very well preserved monastery. Painted in 1530, its frescoes include the siege of Constantinople. Again the chants of our angel-voiced choristers aroused amazement and tenderness in the pilgrims present. “Our Father” sounded especially at the request of the touched nuns. That special sense of connection with God, humility and comfort that overwhelm souls when the song fills the temple, did not leave us until the end of the journey.

We were very impressed by the nuns in the two monasteries, obviously educated and knowledgeable women fluent in German, French and English.

All the time on the bus we had entertaining talks and quizzes about the history, culture and religion of the territory we were crossing. The charismatic and respected teacher Veselin Keremedchiev introduced us to the geographical features of Romania. Irina Bakardzhieva gave us a fascinating lecture on “Anxiety – definition, symptoms and coping techniques”. Ivelina Ivanova had prepared a fun lottery with prizes.

On the 25th we traveled to Neamţ County and the Monastery of St. George. Agapia” the largest operating nunnery in Eastern Europe. It was followed by the Neamţ Monastery, which was first mentioned in the 14th century and is the largest monastery complex in Romania. After the fall of the Tarnovo Kingdom under Ottoman rule, many clergy were sheltered in the monastery, including Grigory Tsamblak, one of the first abbots of this cloister. Our Church Choir once again made unforgettable the moments in these temples of God.

The trip back to Bulgaria was filled with another portion of knowledge – a talk about the psychological traumas of childhood as a source of knowledge and opportunity for healing. The topic was prepared by Irina Bakardzhieva – now a psychology student who has long-standing interests in the field, combined with personal experience and practice.

All the time our organizer took care of each one with her inherent warmth, sparkling humor and dedication, and as she herself says, when the limit of human possibilities comes, God gives the humane heart otherworldly powers beyond all limitations.

With gratitude to all sponsors and with hope for new pilgrimages!