Balgarianovinite.com Prof. Kazimir Popkonstantinov of Veliko Tarnovo University presented a report on St. John of Rila (876-946) and 10th-century epigraphic monuments on the second day of the Third International Cyrillic Forum, held Thursday at the Icon Gallery of Rila Monastery. Thursday’s academic programme focuses on St John of Rila, marking 1,080 years since his passing.
Popkonstantinov noted that the topic of monastic hermitage in medieval Bulgaria has long been of interest not only to clergy and church and secular historians, but also to archaeologists, liturgists, literary scholars, art historians, and other researchers.
He highlighted several sites where epigraphic monuments have been discovered, including the rock monastery and necropolis near the village of Krepcha, the rock monastery near Murfatlar, the monastery near the village of Ravna in Provadia, and others. The Professor emphasized that the founders of these monasteries were associated with Tsar Boris I.
Popkonstantinov’s report included a discussion of the rock monastery near Krepcha and the epigraphic monument found there – a gravestone inscribed with the burial of “The Holy Father Antony.” Based on the inscription, it is clear that Father Antony was a contemporary of Tsars Boris I, Simeon I, and Peter I, as well as of St. John of Rila. “We can only speculate whether they knew of each other personally, but I am firmly convinced that they did,” Popkonstantinov said.
He said that it is undeniable that the Rila hermit is “one of the most remarkable figures of our past, and his monastery has a millennium-long, living history, closely intertwined with the life of the Bulgarian people.”
The two-day forum on “Cultural Heritage in the Digital Age” brings together scholars from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and Bulgarian universities, as well as distinguished speakers from Germany, Italy, Poland, Romania, Hungary, Kazakhstan and China. It is held under the auspices of the National Commission of the Republic of Bulgaria for UNESCO, with the assistance of the Ministry of Education and Science and the support of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
The first part of the forum took place at the National Palace of Culture (NDK) in Sofia on Wednesday.
Attending the event are President Iliana Iotova, Bulgarian Patriarch and Metropolitan of Sofia Daniil, Hegumen of the Rila Monastery, Bishop Evlogii of Adrianople, Metropolitan Seraphim of Nevrokop, and Bulgarian News Agency Director General Kiril Valchev. Prof. Kazimir Popkonstantinov Presents Report on St. John of Rila and 10th-Century Epigraphic Monuments 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-03-26 15:33:56 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