Balgarianovinite.com Archimandrite Gabriel, the hegumen of the Bulgarian Zograf Monastery of St George on Mount Athos, received two volumes featuring copies of news items and photos of the monastery from the archive of the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA). They were delivered by BTA Director General Kiril Valchev on the eve of the autumn feast of St George (November 16, Old Style), the date on which his relics were transferred from the site of his martyrdom in Lydda (today’s city of Lod in Israel) to a newly consecrated Christian church.
Valchev arrived at the monastery along with a parliamentary delegation.
The news items are collected in a 127-page book, matching the agency’s 127-year history since its first bulletin was issued in 1898. The oldest BTA report from Mount Athos, dating from 1935, is a dispatch from the French Havas news agency describing the ebb and flow along the Athos coastline following an earthquake in Greece.
The second volume contains 91 photographs from BTA’s photo archive of the Zograf Monastery. The oldest image, taken in 1972, may prove useful, the hegumen said, as it shows a terrace of the wing currently under restoration. No older photograph of that section is known to exist, only a drawing.
Both volumes were prepared by BTA’s Archives and Reference Directorate, headed by Desislava Sevova.
Kiril Valchev said: “I have kept the promise I made during the spring feast of St George on May 6, 2025, when I pledged to the then newly elected hegumen, Archimandrite Gabriel, that I would come for the saint’s autumn feast with copies of all BTA reports on the Zograf Monastery from the agency’s bulletins since 1898, as well as copies of all photographs of the monastery available at BTA. I said I would deliver them both in print and digital format, to be preserved in the library of the monastery.”
BTA’s Director General also said that during the communist era, there were not many news items from the Zograf Monastery. There is one article from 1972 in BTA’s Paraleli magazine by Ivan Garelov, as well as BBC stories, the oldest dating from 1979. After 1990, reports are mainly about visits by Bulgarian delegations. “In fact, the Bulgarian media do not provide as much coverage of the Zograf Monastery as it deserves. I also hope that, in the coming years, the books containing information about it in the Bulgarian media will become much more substantial,” said Valchev.
He said that once the digitization of BTA’s archives is completed, which is expected next year, additional material on the Zograf Monastery may be uncovered and provided in time for the next autumn feast of St George.
BTA’s Director General said that copies of the volumes containing the news agency’s reports and photographs from the Zograf Monastery will also be delivered to Bulgaria’s Consulate General in Thessaloniki, to the Bulgarian Embassy in Athens, and to the library of the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
During a visit for the spring feast of St George on May 6, Valchev met with the newly elected hegumen, Archimandrite Gabriel and pledged that BTA would continue to release reports from the Zograf Monastery for use by all media outlets and would provide systematic coverage of all major events at the monastery. BTA Delivers Archive Material Documenting Zograf Monastery 2025 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2025-11-16 16:42:00 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
