Archbishop Casian of Lower Danube: Church of Ascension in Braila Is Academy of Bulgarian-Romanian Friendship, Culture, Spirituality

BTA correspondent Andrey Kyuchukov, Dimitrina Solakova

A prayer service at the Church of the Ascension in Braila (BTA Photo/Bisser Todorov)

Braila, Romania,

18.09.2024 15:19

(BTA)

At the Church of the Ascension in Braila on Wednesday, Archbishop Casian of Lower Danube said that the church is a kind of cathedral and academy of Bulgarian-Romanian friendship, culture and spirituality. He was welcoming a Bulgarian delegation visiting Romania on the occasion of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences' (BAS) 155th anniversary. Together with Archpriest Kiril Sinev, who represents the Bulgarian Patriarchate in Bucharest, Archbishop Casian led a prayer service in Bulgarian an Romanian.

Archbishop Casian said there are many individuals who connect Bulgaria and Romania and are part of the two countries' history, such as Queen Theodora of Tarnovo, declared a saint by the Romania Orthodox Church, Sophronius of Vratsa, who published his Nedelnik in 1806 in Romania's Rymnik, and Hristo Botev, who fought for cultural and spiritual freedom.

Archbishop Casian commented that Botev had insisted on the establishment in Braila, rather than in Odesa or Galatz, of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences' predecessor, the Bulgarian Literary Society. The Archbishop recalled that at the time, Braila was an important trade and spiritual centre that welcomed people from various countries, including the Bulgarian awakeners who created the Bulgarian Literary Society on October 12, 1869.

According to Archbishop Casian, the memorial plaque in the church's courtyard would look more complete if a cross is placed on it.

/DD/