site.btaOrthodox Tourist Route to be Jointly Created by Bulgaria and Romania

During a working visit to Romania's capital Bucharest, the head of the Heritage BG Centre of Excellence, Prof. Ivan Ilchev, signed a memorandum of cooperation and mutual participation in projects with Romania’s Institute for Advanced Studies in Levant Culture and Civilization Centre of Excellence of the World Academy of Art & Science, Sofia University said on Thursday.

The Romanian institute was founded by an act of Romania’s Parliament in 2017, on the initiative of former President Prof. Emil Constantinescu.

In Bucharest, Prof. Ilchev held a meeting with Emil Constantinescu and the Institute’s Executive Director. The highlight of the discussions was the Romanian team’s achievements in a Danube and Black Sea port cities project. Another topic was the opportunities for cooperation, including the Heritage BG Centre of Excellence’s participation in this project as an associate member from Bulgaria.

The two sides exchanged views on the establishment of a joint spiritual Orthodox tourist route in Eastern Bulgaria starting from Rezovo to the north, through Dobrudja, Tulcea to Iași, and paying special attention to the cathedral dedicated to Saint Parascheva, venerated by both Bulgarians and Romanians.

The Heritage BG Centre of Excellence has also reached an agreement with Greece’s Aristotle University and Democritus University to start work on the creation of a cultural route tracing the spread of Christianity in Europe through the Balkans, similarly to the Council of Europe’s Cyril and Methodius Route.