site.btaBTA and Sofia Theological Seminary Sign Cooperation Agreement

The Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) signed a partnership agreement with the Sofia Theological Seminary here on Saturday. The document was signed by BTA Director General Kiril Valchev and the Rector of the Seminary, Bishop Pachomius of Branicevo (Petar Lozanov) in the building of the theological school.

At the signing, Valchev said: "Our goal is to have such collaborations with all Bulgarian universities. We also have the goal of signing contracts with all cultural schools. Cooperation with vocational schools is very important - to have permanent information that will motivate more Bulgarian families and their children to study in such schools."

Valchev pointed out that numerous prominent cultural figures have studied at the Seminary over the years. Those include writer and playwright Yordan Radichkov, historian Aleksandar Burmov, multi-talented figures such as Sirak Skitnik and Nikolay Rainov, scholars, composers and musicians. "So I am sure that future great figures are getting formed here even now," Valchev said.

The BTA Director General shared that the Agency had published only one article about the Sofia Theological Seminary in 2018. That number dropped to zero the following year, however, in 2023, after talks began about a future partnership, BTA published 11 articles. Valchev said that the goal of the agreement is to have the theological school featured in an article every week, while the most important news will also be translated into English.

He said that another aspect of providing regular information about the Seminary is the opportunity to reach Bulgarian diasporas abroad, especially larger ones such as those in Ukraine, Moldova, Serbia and North Macedonia.

Pachomius expressed gratitude to BTA for the chance to reach as many people as possible, their families and children, so that they can learn about the Sofia Theological Seminary as an educational system.

The bishop explained that the Seminary is a general secondary and vocational school. "The general education subjects, which are studied everywhere, are also taught here, in accordance with the requirements of the Ministry of Education and Science, under the supervision of the Regional Department of Education - Sofia, plus theological subjects. A person can be enriched and developed thanks to them. They can allow one to understand the knowledge of our Orthodox Christianity, our perennial traditions," Pachomius said.

After the signing, Valchev presented Pachomius with a medal commemorating the 125th anniversary of the establishment of BTA.