site.btaMetropolitan John of Varna and Veliki Preslav Stresses Importance of Canonizing Bishop Constantine of Preslav

At an academic session commemorating 1,160 years since Bulgaria's Christianization and 1,170 years since the creation of the Glagolitic alphabet, Metropolitan John of Varna and Veliki Preslav emphasized the significance of canonizing Bishop Constantine of Preslav. The event took place at Shumen University on Saturday.

He said a formal request for canonization was submitted to the Holy Synod during the time of the late Patriarch Neophyte, and a commission was set up. Metropolitan John stressed that the canonization holds great importance both for the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the local diocese.

He noted that unlike other disciples of Saints Cyril and Methodius, Constantine of Preslav was not canonized and remained largely forgotten by both scholars and the Church until the 19th century. Metropolitan John described Constantine as a major figure in the cultural and spiritual transformation that followed Bulgaria's Christianization - an era that marked a profound renewal of the Bulgarian people's cultural and creative identity.

Positioning Constantine of Preslav alongside Saint Clement of Ohrid, Metropolitan John called Bishop Constantine one of the most prolific writers among the disciples of Cyril and Methodius, and a key architect of Old Bulgarian literature and identity, whose legacy is fittingly honoured in the name of Konstantin Preslavsky Shumen University.

The celebrations of the two major anniversaries were organized by the Metropolitanate of Varna and Veliki Preslav.