site.btaMunicipal Councillors from Blue Sofia Propose St. Alexander Nevsky Square to Be Named after St. John of Rila

Vili Lilkov, Ivan Sotirov and Ivaylo Yonkov, municipal councilors from Blue Sofia, have tabled a report with a proposal for changing the name of St. Alexander Nevsky Square in Sofia to St. John of Rila Square, the Sofia Municipal Council said in a press release on Thursday.

The document says that the square is the most representative public space of Bulgaria's capital, which unites the city's emblematic Orthodox churches, state and cultural institutions and memorials. The municipal councillors from Blue Sofia propose that the square be renamed after St. John of Rila, who is the most revered Bulgarian saint, patron saint of the Bulgarian people, the report's authors said.

The municipal councillors also state that Alexander Nevsky's activity is not related to Bulgaria and Sofia and embodies the Russian identity.