Path: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!nycmny1-snh1.gtei.net!cpk-news-hub1.bbnplanet.com!news.gtei.net!newsfeed1.cidera.com!portc01.blue.aol.com!peerfeed.news.psi.net!news.cs.columbia.edu!news-not-for-mail From: radev@tune.cs.columbia.edu (Dragomir R. Radev) Newsgroups: soc.culture.bulgaria,soc.answers,news.answers Subject: soc.culture.bulgaria FAQ (monthly posting) (part 8/10) Supersedes: Followup-To: soc.culture.bulgaria Date: 23 Jun 2001 04:01:25 -0400 Organization: Columbia University, Dept. of Computer Science, NYC Lines: 2032 Approved: news-answers-request@mit.edu Expires: 6 Aug 2001 08:00:09 GMT Message-ID: References: NNTP-Posting-Host: tune.cs.columbia.edu X-Trace: tornado.cs.columbia.edu 993283289 20551 128.59.19.100 (23 Jun 2001 08:01:29 GMT) X-Complaints-To: news-adm@news.cs.columbia.edu NNTP-Posting-Date: 23 Jun 2001 08:01:29 GMT Summary: This posting contains Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) about Bulgaria and their answers. Please read this posting before posting to soc.culture.bulgaria The FAQ includes 11 parts numbered from 0 (table of contents) to 10. Please send all updates/corrections to Dragomir R. Radev (radev@cs.columbia.edu). Keywords: bulgaria culture travel monthly answers contact eastern europe Frequency: monthly Xref: senator-bedfellow.mit.edu soc.culture.bulgaria:151271 soc.answers:15508 news.answers:209920 Last-Modified: July 17, 2000 Posting-Frequency: Monthly Version: 4.11 URL: http://www.cs.columbia.edu/~radev/cgi-bin/bgfaq.cgi Archive-Name: bulgaria-faq/part8 =============================================================================== CHAPTER 18: TRADITIONS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18-1 What are Bulgaria's national holidays (by Dragomir R. Radev) New Year's Day Jan 1 National Holiday (Liberation from the Turks) Mar 3 Easter (not on the same day as in Western Europe) Labor Day May 1 St. Cyril and St. Methodius Day (Education and Culture Day, May 24 also Day of the Slavic Heritage) Christmas Dec 25 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18-2 Bulgarian Folk Festivals and Customs (by Rossen Zlatev), last updated: 31-Dec-1991 Many of the national customs originated in the Christian religion. But there are also many traditions that bring with them a spirit from ancient times. One of them is the traditional "horo" dance which can be simple or sophisticated, gentle or wild. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18-3 Trifon Zarezan (Wine-grower's Day) (by Rossen Zlatev), last updated: 31-Dec-1991 14 February. Dressed in their Sunday-best, wine-growers prune the vines and sprinkle them with wine for a good harvest. Everyone then gathers for a delicious meal. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18-4 What do Bulgarian celebrate on March 1 (by by Luben Boyanov) On the first day of March, Bulgarians wish each other health and happiness with "Chestita baba Marta" - (in English "Happy Grandma Marta"). "Marta" comes from the word for March (Mart) in Bulgarian. This is an ancient Bulgarian (pagan) tradition (well - I can't tell you how old but I think that it's more than one thousand years old) and symbolizes the end of the cold winter and the coming of the spring. Usually we put something in red and white (a thread in the past and commercialized plastic junk at present) on ourselves (on our wrist or clothes) and when we see the first stork (supposed to come back from the south and not the one in the Zoo) we throw the red and white thread on a tree. The red and white colours symbolize the snow and the blood from an old story where, a stork brings the blessing for health to a small child from its parents, who are far away. The giving of the "marteniza" makes you feel to expect the Spring very soon. The "arrival" of the stork indicates that this has happened. I don't have time now to tell the entire story but I'm sure somebody will. The lack of "real" winter and "storks" (not a lot of them in the cities :-() raises some difficulties in implementing this tradition nowadays but Bulgarians are still celebrating and very fond of the 1st of March (in a traditional and "modern" way at the same time). __ __ | \ / | \ \ / / \ \ / / \ \/ / \__||_/ /\ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ X X /|\ /|\ //|\\ //|\\ ///|\\\ ///|\\\ ////|\\\\ ////|\\\\ /////|\\\\\ /////|\\\\\ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18-5 How is the date of the Orthodox Easter calculated (by Konstantin Zahariev), last updated: 06-Apr-1996 The URLs are below. For those of you who do not have an easy access to the Web, here is a quote from from http://cssa.stanford.edu/~marcos/ortheast.html: Between AD326 and AD1582, Christianity determined Easter using an algorithm approved by a Church Council in AD325, with the equinox defined as March 20 (the date in the Julian calendar of the equinox in AD325). From AD1054 (when the Orthodox and Catholic Churches split) through AD1582 both the Catholic and Orthodox Churches celebrated Easter on the same date, still using the algorithm from AD325. The Julian Calendar was used by the European (and Christian) communities until the Gregorian reform of 1582. Since AD1582 October (when the Gregorian Calendar was adopted by much of Catholic Europe), the Orthodox Easter usually falls on dates different than the Western Christian Easter, although apparently the Churches are discussing using the same formula to determine Easter - probably a formula different than that currently used by either Church. The Orthodox Easter is determined in the Julian Calendar, and is never before or on the Jewish Feast of Passover (14 Nisan in the Hebrew Calendar). >From 1900 until 2099 the Eastern Easter will fall one, four, or five weeks after the Western Easter - and rarely on the same date. Alex Kochergin (Kochergin_alex@mm.ssd.lmsc.lockheed.com) has sent the following information about the Eastern Easter: It has a cycle that (in the Julian Calendar) repeats itself every 532 (19x28) years (since the Julian Solar calendar repeats every 28 years and the Metonic Lunar cycle is 19 years). Because of the strict concordance with the lunar cycle, the Eastern Easter occurs only after Passover. The Gregorian Easter (on the other hand) does not track Passover. For example: in 1997, Passover is 22 April; Western Easter is three weeks EARLIER (30 March) and the Eastern Easter is the Sunday following Passover (27 April). Alex also provided the following algorithm derived by the German mathematician Gauss. This algorithm calculates the number of days AFTER March 21 (Julian) that Easter occurs (Note: It is a much simpler calculation than the Western Easter. RMD(x,y) = remainder when x is divided by y.) R1=RMD(Year,19) R2=RMD(Year,4) R3=RMD(Year,7) RA=19*R1+16 R4=RMD(RA,30) RB=2*R2+4*R3+6*R4 R5=RMD(RB,7) RC=R4+R5 The number RC ranges from 1 to 35 which corresponds to March 22 to April 25 in the Julian Calendar (currently April 4 to May 8 on the Gregorian). The Julian Calendar is now 13 days behind the Gregorian, and will be until March 1, 2100 when it will be 14 days behind the Gregorian Calendar. For more details on the Orthodox Easter date rules, check out http://cssa.stanford.edu/~marcos/ortheast.html http://cssa.stanford.edu/~marcos/ec-cal.html http://www.ozemail.com.au/~jahisco/BSS/easter.htm For the Catholic Easter date rules, see http://www.ast.cam.ac.uk/RGO/leaflets/easter/easter.html For the Hebrew calendar: http://www-syntim.inria.fr/htbin/air/hebrewcalendar2.pl Finally, for you Matlab users, I could not resist but write the above algorithm as a Matlab program - http://maelstrom.seos.uvic.ca/people/zahariev/easter_date.m It accepts any year between 1583 and 2099. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18-6 Orthodox Easter Dates for 1997-2099 (by Konstantin Zahariev), last updated: 20-Mar-1997 In 1997 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 27. In 1998 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 19. In 1999 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 11. In 2000 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 30. In 2001 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 15. In 2002 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, May 5. In 2003 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 27. In 2004 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 11. In 2005 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, May 1. In 2006 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 23. In 2007 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 8. In 2008 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 27. In 2009 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 19. In 2010 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 4. In 2011 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 24. In 2012 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 15. In 2013 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, May 5. In 2014 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 20. In 2015 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 12. In 2016 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, May 1. In 2017 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 16. In 2018 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 8. In 2019 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 28. In 2020 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 19. In 2021 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, May 2. In 2022 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 24. In 2023 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 16. In 2024 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, May 5. In 2025 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 20. In 2026 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 12. In 2027 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, May 2. In 2028 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 16. In 2029 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 8. In 2030 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 28. In 2031 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 13. In 2032 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, May 2. In 2033 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 24. In 2034 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 9. In 2035 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 29. In 2036 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 20. In 2037 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 5. In 2038 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 25. In 2039 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 17. In 2040 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, May 6. In 2041 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 21. In 2042 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 13. In 2043 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, May 3. In 2044 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 24. In 2045 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 9. In 2046 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 29. In 2047 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 21. In 2048 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 5. In 2049 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 25. In 2050 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 17. In 2051 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, May 7. In 2052 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 21. In 2053 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 13. In 2054 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, May 3. In 2055 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 18. In 2056 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 9. In 2057 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 29. In 2058 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 14. In 2059 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, May 4. In 2060 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 25. In 2061 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 10. In 2062 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 30. In 2063 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 22. In 2064 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 13. In 2065 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 26. In 2066 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 18. In 2067 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 10. In 2068 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 29. In 2069 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 14. In 2070 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, May 4. In 2071 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 19. In 2072 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 10. In 2073 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 30. In 2074 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 22. In 2075 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 7. In 2076 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 26. In 2077 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 18. In 2078 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, May 8. In 2079 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 23. In 2080 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 14. In 2081 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, May 4. In 2082 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 19. In 2083 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 11. In 2084 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 30. In 2085 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 15. In 2086 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 7. In 2087 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 27. In 2088 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 18. In 2089 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, May 1. In 2090 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 23. In 2091 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 8. In 2092 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 27. In 2093 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 19. In 2094 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 11. In 2095 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 24. In 2096 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 15. In 2097 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, May 5. In 2098 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 27. In 2099 the Orthodox Easter is on Sunday, April 12. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18-7 What is Gergyovden (St. George's Day) (by by Luben Boyanov) There are a lot of rituals and celebrations, concerning St. George's day (Gergiovden). It is celebrated on the 6th of May, although some calendar changes brought by the Orthodox Church (all dates for celebration of the saints have been changed some time ago). Saint George the Victorious ("Pobedonosez") was cannonized by the Church because of what he has done. He is usually painted on an icon as riding a white horse, holding a lance in his hand, stabbed in the throat of a beast - the dragon ("lamia"). According to the legend, a dragon used to attack the shepherds and their sheep and each time the dragon used to steal a sheep or a lamb. The shepherds were desperate. Then St. George appeared and killed the dragon. Since that day, the shepherds celebrate St. George everyyear and make a "kurban" - slaughter of a lamb (sacrifice for St. George). In every house of a village, a lamb is slaughtered. Before that some flowers are put on the lamb's horns and even a prayer is read. All village gates (doors) are covered with flowers. Early in the morning, people go to the river to wash themselves. On this days, people has to check their weight ("pretegliam se") - it has been the "only" day of the year when people checked their weight. There has also been a tradition that people goto a swing ("lyulka") on that day. St. George's day (Gergiovden) has been pronounced (some years after the liberation of Bulgaria) as the day of the Army - the Bravery day. The main Army parade used to take place on this day. Recently, this festivity has been restored. As far as the 1st of May is concerned, it hasn't been a traditional celebrational day. However, on this day everybody has been trying to cheat somebody else (like on the 1st of April, nowadays). If one succeeds (in his "cheating") - he says :"Mai, mai, zamayah te" (difficult to translate - a play of words meaning - I've cheated you). Traditionally on St. Paul's day (St. Pavel) - the 11th (or 29th) of June people don't work and don't lit fires ("ogniove"). The next day is St. Peter's day - when a chicken is to be eaten. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18-8 What is the origin of Petkovden (by Peter Yovchev) (by Peter Yovchev) (This entry is in Bulgarian) Prep. Paraskeva (Petka) pravoslavnata cqrkva chestva na 14 oktomvri. Tova e nepodvizhen cqrkoven praznik. Tja e rodena v grad Epivat-Trakija, prez X vek. Oshte na mladini se obricha v sluzhba na Boga. Naj-silno i povlijali Evangelskite slova, koito vednqzh chula v hrama: "Ako njakoj iska da vqrvi sled Mene, da se otkazhe ot sebe si". Celija si zhivot prep. Paraskeva prekarala v Jordanskata pustinja. Prez 1025 g. netlennite j moshti bili preneseni v Tqrnovo, a po-kqsno - v gr. JAsh - Rumqnija, kqdeto sa i do dnes. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18-9 Lazarouvane (by Rossen Zlatev), last updated: 31-Dec-1991 1 April. The ancient festival of youth and spring. Young women and girls dressed in national costumes with garlands of flowers on their heads visit all the houses in the village, chanting traditional songs, dancing and wishing health, happiness and fertility. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18-10 Bqlgarski obichai po kolednite praznici (by Vladimir Marangozov), last updated: 30-Dec-1995 (This entry is in Bulgarian) Pravoslavniyat hristiyanski kalendar postavya za nachalo na praznichnata godina 1 septemvri, makar grqko-rimskiat ezicheski obreden cikql da e zapochval ot pqrvi yanuari. Sled pribiraneto na rekoltata idva redqt na tradicionnite kalendarni praznici. Prez IV vek grqko-rimskoto duhovenstvo vqvejda golemiyat praznik, nepoznat dotogava, Rojdestvo Hristovo, prikrepen kqm denya na zimniya slqnchev krqgovrat, 25 dekemvri. Dqlgo vreme predi tova, a i po-kqsno, v predelite na Rimskata imperiya sa se chestvali tqy narechenite Kalendi, predhojdani ot drugi podobni praznici prez dekemvri, glavno Saturnaliite. Bezsilna da gi otstrani napqlno, cqrkvata gi sqglasuva s novite hristiyanski vqzgledi. Ot druga strana u nyakoi slavyanski narodi kolednite obredi sa svqrzani s novogodishnite. U nas obache ima dva otdelni praznika - Koleda i Vasilovden (Nova godina). Kak praznikqt Koleda e bil chestvan nyakoga? Shtom premine Nikulden (6 dekemvri), kogato se chestva svetecqt, pokrovitel na zastrashenite po more pqtnici, i nastqpi Ignajden (20 dekemvri), koyto po nyakoi mesta se smyata dori za nachalo na novata godina, zapochva podgotovkata na netqrpelivo ochakvanata Koleda. Na Nikulden se pravi kurban ot sharan. V denya na sveti Ignat, narichan u naroda "polezov den", se gleda koy chovek shte doyde prqv (shte polazi) v kqshtata i spored nego, spored haraktera mu i blagopoluchieto mu, se gadae za shtastliva ili losha godina. Denyat sreshtu Koleda se naricha nyakqde "Bojik", t.e. den na mladiya bog. Togava se otsicha v gorata debel pqn (dqb ili buk), narechen "bqdnik", koyto tryabva da gori prez cyalata nosht. Prez tova vreme semeystvoto buduva (bdi) i vnimava da ne zagasne ogqnyat. Dumata "bqdnik" i ottam - Bqdni vecher - proizliza tqkmo ot tova bdenie. Bqdni vecher se praznuva mnogo tqrjestveno s trapeza ot postni yastiya (sarmi, fasul, oshav, chesqn i t.n.). Raznoobrazieto e zadqljitelno, za da moje prez godinata da ima ot vsichko. Na tozi den strogo se spazvat nay-raznoobrazni obichai za predugajdane na bqdeshteto i za vqvejdane na zdrave i blagodat v kqshtata. Na mnogo mesta predi vecheryata nyakoy otiva v gradinata i zamahva s bradva po bezplodnite drqvcheta sqs zakanata: "Shte preseka tova dqrvo!" Drug go spira: "Zashto shte go sechesh" - "Oti ne rajda." - "Ostavi go, otsega shte rodi." Tova se povtarya tri pqti. Po sqshtiyat nachin se plashat bezdetni jeni i neprohodili deca. Posle mqjqt slaga na paleshnika ogqn i tamyan i prekajda tri pqti trapezata. Pqrviyat zalqk ne se yade - sutrinta se dava na dobitqka; momata spi s nego i ako sqnuva, che go yade s nyakoy momqk, shte se omqji za nego. Sled vecheryata se chupyat orehi, za da se vidi kqsmeta na vseki - hubavata yadka oznachava zdrave i spoluka, a razvalenata - bolest. Edna cyala yadka se ostavya za sv. Bogorodica - tya sluji za lek, kakto i drugite zapazeni ot tazi vecher neshta. A kogato se nahranyat, vsichki stavat vkupom, za da se izmqtyat yaycata pod kvachkata zaedno, da ne se razpilyavat kokoshkite, piletata i pchelite. Domakinqt pristqpya naveden dozemi, za da bqdat klasovete na nivata pqlni i privedeni ot jito i t.n. Na sutrinta na 25 dekemvri, Golyama Koleda, se gleda v kqshtata nay-napred da doyde momiche ili mlada jena, ta agnetata da bqdat vse jenski. Vajno myasto v cyalata obrednost imat pesnite na koledarite, koito se izpqlnyavat ot drujina koledari vecherta sreshtu praznika i zaranta na drugiya den. Mladi momci podgotvyat nyakolko dni po-rano praznichnite pesni, zapomneni ot staro vreme. V urechen chas te trqgvat da "slavyat" Rojdestvo Hristovo, obikalyayki vsichki kqshti na seloto. V atmosfera, nasitena ot nay-hubavi nedejdi i ot radost na mladi i stari, pevcite poseshtavat vsyaka kqshta, noseyki "blagata vest" za zdrave i uspeh. Pesnite, koito prozvuchavat nay-tqrjestveno prez noshtta, ne sa sluchayna dobavka kqm religiozno chestvane. Te predstavlyavat negov osnoven dyal, bez koyto ne moje da se misli za nikakvo povisheno nastroenie i nikakva vyara v prorocheskoto znachenie na dumite, koito se kazvat. Vsichki useshtat nastqpvaneto na nov godishen period i se nadyavat na blagodenstvie i bereket. Pesnite sa sqobrazeni s vqzrastta, polejenieto v semeystvoto i chastnite interesi ili mechti na vseki, kato se polaga golyama grija da ne bqde zabraven nikoy i da ne se sgreshi v reda na chestvaneto. Pqrvata vqzhvala e prednaznachena za domakina - "stanenik" ili za "chudnoto dqrvo", bqdnika, simvol na ochakvanata blagodat. Dqrvoto se misli za vqzvisheno do nebeto spusnalo kloni do zemyata. Po nego sliza sam Gospod ("Mlada Boga"), za da daruva shtedro momi i momci, mayki i dqshteri, bashti i sinove, deca i starci sqs "suho zlato, dreben biser" i da predricha pqlna kqshta s "drebni deca, agnenca, telenca, prasenca" i t.n. Vsyaka pesen za domakina zavqrshva sqs stereotipno zaklyuchenie: Tebe peem, stanenine, Tebe peem, blagoslovi! Ot boga ti mnogo zdrave, ot drujina veselbina! S shiroko sqrce i vesel duh domakinqt simvolichno e gotov da oblagodetelstva drujinata s vsichko onova, koeto moje da ya radva i nasqrchava. Sreshtu sv. Vasil (1 yanuari) se pravi kadena vecher ("vtori Bqdni vecher"). Na trapezata se slaga banica ili mlin, v koyto ima malki dryanovi prqchki s pqpki i edna srebqrna para. Koyto nameri parata shte bqde nay-bogat i shtastliv, a na kogoto se padne nyakoe ot klonchetata - toy shte poluchi kqsmeta, koyto e narechen na tova klonche - zdrave, svatba, nova kqshta i t.n. Drugo tradicionno yastie e pachata ot svinska glava. Na sutrinta po-mladite momcheta trqgvat da survakat za zdrave s otrano prigotvenite survaknici ot ukraseni dryanovi klonki. Navsyakqde gi daruvat s pari, orehi i kravai. Sreshtu 2 yanuari, sv. Silvestriy, se pravi "rivanka" ili "rivane" na oborite. Po mrqknaloto, cheta momci trqgva s gaydi i pesni, vliza vqv vsyaka kqshta i izriva torta ot oborite, koito ne sa chisteni ot Bqdni vecher. Navsyakqde gi chaka torba s kravai, bqklica vino, nadenica ili pecheno svinsko meso. Domakinite ne gi posreshtat, no ostavyat portite otvoreni, a kuchetata vqrzani. Rinachite peyat iz ulicite, igrayat okolo bayrak i na drugiya den prodavat sqbranata slanina i s parite pravyat nova goshtavka. Na 6 yanuari se praznuva Bogoyavlenie ili Vodici. Togava se krqshtava vodata i ot tozi den prestava da hodi karakondjo, koyto e obikalyal prez dvanadesette "poganni dni". Sveshtenikqt pravi vodosvet na rekata, ezeroto ili moreto, kqdeto se otiva s ikoni i horugvi, i hvqrlya krqsta vqv vodata. Momcite skachat da go vadyat i posle obikalyat s nego i sqbirat bakshish. Momi i ergeni zaedno obikalyat imennicite i im miyat licata sqs specialna voda, koyato nosyat sqs sebe si. Vyarva se, che ako zamrqzne kitkata na popa pri vodosveta, godinata shte bqde plodorodna. Bolni i deca se kqpyat s drehite v rekata, a "krqstenata voda" se pie za zrdave na gladno sqrce. Nyakoi krqshtavat s neya vinoto i razsola, za da ne se razvalyat. Posledniyat ppraznik ot tozi cikql e Babinden. Na nego maykite s malki deca gostuvat na svoite "babi" (t.e. akusherki), nosyat im darove i im polivat da se izmiyat, sled koeto se otdavat na veselo i shumno ugoshtenie. Ponyakoga, babite bivat otkarvani do rekata i okqpani. S veselie i bogati trapezi se praznuvat i mnogo imenni dni, svqrzani s praznicite na hristiyanskite svetci: - 4 dekemvri e denyat na velikomqchenica Varvara - 5 dekemvri e denyat na sv. Sava; - 6 dekemvri e Nikulden - 20 dekemvri e denyat na sveshtenomqchenik Ignatiy-Bogonosec- Ignajden - 22 dekemvri e denyat na velikomqchenica Anastasiya, chestvana v narodniya kalendar i katp sv. Ana; - 25 dekemvri _ Koleda - e denyat, kogato praznuvat vsichki Hristovci - 27 dekemvri e Stefanovden; - 1 yanuari e Vasilovden - 2 yanuari e denyat na sv. Silvestqr, papa Rimski; - 6 yanuari - Bogoyavleniue - e Yordanovden, togava praznuvat i vsichki Bogdanovci - 7 yanuari e Ivanovden, praznikqt na sv. Yoan Krqstitel; - 18 yanuari e Atanasovden. Surva, surva godina, vesela godina! Zelen klas na niva, golyam grozd na loze, jqlt mamul na lesa, chervena yabqlka v gradina, pqlna kqshta s koprina, jivo-zdravo dogodina, dogodina, do amina! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18-11 Koleduvane (Christmas Carol Singing) (by Rossen Zlatev), last updated: 31-Dec-1991 24 December. An old national custom. Young men dressed in national costumes go from house to house, chanting carols for health, happiness and fertility. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18-12 The Festival of Roses (by Rossen Zlatev), last updated: 31-Dec-1991 The Festival of Roses is celebrated during the first half of June in the Valley of Roses. Rose picking starts early, before dawn, while the roses are still glistening with dew. The rose petals are picked before sunrise, otherwise the precious fragrance will be lost. Two thousand petals are needed for a single gram of attar of roses. On the international market seventy per cent of rose attar comes from Bulgaria. It is bought by all the famous perfumeries and is an essential component of the best and most expensive perfumes. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 18-13 New Year's traditions (in Bulgarian) (by Iliya Talev), last updated: 27-Dec-1995 "Sorcova, vesela, sa traesti, sa imbatranesti... la anul si la multi ani!.." [= "Surva, vesela, da si zdrav, da jiveesh dqlgo... dogodina i za mnogo godini!"] Taka nashite severni sqsedi se survakat na vrqh Nova godina. A v uchilishte sa gi uchili, che survakaneto e "dreven dakiyski obichay", koyto e unikalen za rumqncite... (izliza sqshto kato gaydata i vardarskite makedonci)! Tazi magicheska formulirovka, ochevidno, ne e na originalniya ezik: prilagatelnite "sorkova, vesela" sa v jenski rod, no lipsva poyasnyavanata ot tyah duma - "godina"! Kato dadem bqlgarskiya variant, shte vidim, che na bqlgarski frazata naistina ima zavqrshen vid, kakto podobava ba magicheski formuli: "Surva, surva godina, vesela godina... Jivi-zdravi dogodina, dogodina - do amina!" Tova e originalqt - rumqnskiyat prevod e po-nov, vtorichen. No obichayat e pqrvichen i u dvata naroda, dokolkoto te sa izgradeni ot pochti ednakvi etnicheski komponenti. Podoben obichay namirame v nyakoi rayoni na Yujna Chuvashiya. Chuvashkiyat narod e amalgama na voljski bqlgari i finskoto pleme mordva. Ukrasenoto klonche, s koeto decata tam survakat, se naricha "survak", a prilagatelnoto "survali" v tezi dialecti oznachava "zdrav", "jiznoradosten". Po vsyaka veroyatnost ima nyakakva genetichna vrqzka; standartnoto obyasnenie v bqlgarskata etnografiya, che "surva", "susrvachka" idvali ot "suroviya dryan", ot koyto se pravi survachkata, e nezadovolitelno. "Surva godina" v takqv sluchay shte e bezmislica. Daje neshto poveche - nikoy nyama da pojelae na blizkite si "surova godina" (sravni "surovi izpitaniya")! Az lichno sqm sklonen da vyarvam, che v "surva godina", "survachka", "survakari" i t.n. korenqt "surv-" e izolirano yavlenie v ezika, nyama drugi semantichni realizacii v bqlgarski i e relikva ot ezik, koyto ne razbirame. Vtorichno dokazatelstvo e fonetichnata korupciya na dumata v rumqnski - "sorcova", duma kakto za survachka, taka i nachalna duma v blagosloviyata na survakarite. Za men e yasno, che govoreshtite bqlgarski v Rumqniya ne sa mogli da prevedat na rumqnski dumite "surva", "survak", i zatova te sa absorbirani ot rumqnski spored fonetichnite pravila na ezika (v rumqnski, ot ukrasenata s mnogocvetni parcalcheta ili knijki survachka, "sorcova" znachi oshte bezvkusica - sinonim na izraza "kato ciganski gashti"). Bqlgarskite novogodishni obryadi se proyavyavat kakto v survakane, taka i v maskisrane i predskazaniya za bqdeshteto. V tova otnoshenie se zabelyazva razdelyane na bqlgarskata etnicheska teritoriya na yugo- iztochna i severo-zapadna. Maskiraneto v trakiyskite rayoni (kukerite), kakto i mominskoto gadaene (laduvaneto) sa svqrzani s proletnite, a ne s novogodishnite praznici. Tuk zabelyazvame vrqzka s albanskoto "survakane". Albanskite deca survakat na pqrvi mart, s cqfnali dryanovi prqchki (narecheni "lilidona"), a denyat se naricha "dita colindrave" [=koleden den]; magmicheskata formula e podobna na bqlgaro-rumqnskata, "da ste jivi i zdravi dogodina i do amina". Edno vqzmojno obyasnenie e, che pqrvonachalno novata godina e praznuvana po rimski obichay na pqrvi mart. Po-kqsno, s vqvejdaneto na hristiyanskiya kalendar, pqrviyat den na godinata stava Vasilyovden. Pod vliyanie na prabqlgarite, doshli ot sever, starite balkanski proletni novogodishni praznici se sqchetavat s prabqlgarskite severni, zimni praznici. Imenno Trakiya e teritoriyata, na koyato e nyamalo prabqlgarsko prisqstvie, i zatova starite rimski novogodishni obryadi s maskirane, pantonimen teatqr, gadaene i t.n. ne se prehvqrlyat v zimata (no tova e samo predpolojenie). Koeto ni e ostanalo dnes ot starite novogodishni tradicii e survakaneto i elementi ot gadaeneto (sqs skritata para za kqsmet v novogodishnata banica). Dnes glavno deca hodyat da survakat, a v Rumqniya decata sa vse oshte maskirani, ili pone licata im sa dekizirani s vqglen ili maminoto chervilo. Survachkata se pravi ot sveja, napqpila dryanova prqchka. Pone edno klonche tryabva da e previto nadolu, kato egipetskiya simvol na dqlgoletie "ankh"; obiknoveno dve kloncheta sa previti, i survachkata ima formata na nashata bukva "f", dvoen "ankh". Prqchkata se ukrasyava s mnogocvetni parcalcheta, ushiti kato po-drebni cvetya i golemi gyulove (rozi). Ddnes tova se pravi ot mnogocvetna meka hartiya. Survachkite sega se kopuvat gotovi ot ciganite (poslednite paziteli na nashite tradicii!), a ne se pravyat ot semeystvoto mejdu Koleda i Nova godina. Po tradiciya, survachkite sa se pazeli do proletta i sa se izgaryali ceremonialno na kladi pri proletnoto maskirane na Zagovezni, a decata preskachali ogqnya za zdrave.. "Nova godina" e sravnitelno nov izraz v bqlgarskiya ezik. Tradicionno praznikqt se naricha "Survaki", "Surva", "Surova", "Suroka", "Surozdru", "Vasilyovden", "Vasilica", "Vasiliya" - v zavisimost ot dialekta i oblastta. Dochakvaneto na Novata godina stava na dqlga vecherya, narichana na mesta "vtora kadena vecher" (vtora, sled Bqdni vecher). Tya se otlichava ot Bqldni vecher i po tova, che sega se kanyat i ne-chlenove na semeystvoto. Tradicionna hrana e varena svinska glava, a pri po- bednite, koito ne sa zaklali svoya svinya - svinska pacha, i banica (mlin) s ukrita para i drugi nabelyazani i narecheni predmetcheta, obiknoveno pqpki ot dryan. Osven s namirane na "kqsmeta" v banicata, gadaeneto se proyavyava v hvqrlyane na sharen bob, hvqrlyane na ashici (ocveteni kokqlcheta ot agneshko kolyano), leene na kurshum (izlivane na raztopeno olovo v panica sqs svetena voda), laduvane (gadaene s prqsteni v "mqlchaliva voda", t.e., voda, koyato e donesena ot kladeneca pri pqlno mqlchanie na noseshtite ya, i daje - po-sqvremennoto gledane na kafe. Dokqm kraya na 30-te godini, survakaneto prez noshta sreshtu Nova godina se e izvqrshvalo ot maskirani drujini mladi mqje (narichani "survakari", "survaskari", "vasilichari", "starci", "babugeri", "djamalari"). Maskiranite predstavyat obiknoveno uchastnici v svatba, mechkar i mechka, drugi jivotni, i razigravat pantomimi sqs zachatqci na primitiven naroden teatqr. Izpolzvat se zvqnci i se vdiga mnogo shum, daje se gqrmi s lovdjiyski pushki, za da se progonyat zlizte duhove, talasqmite i karakondjulite. Vsichko tova dnes e pochti zabraveno, kato funkciyata na survakane se e prehvqrlila vqrhu decata. Dneshnite urbanizirani bqlgari sa zapazili obichta si kqm praznika. Daje i v nay-mizerni godini, vinagi e imalo dostatqcho hrana i napitki za Nova godina - za semeystvoto i priyatelite, i dostatqchno stotinki v djoba sa mladite survakari. A ot magikata na narodnoto gadaene i predrichane na bqdeshteto e ostanalo u vsichki "novogodishnoto obeshtanie", t.e., che ot Nova godina shte stanem razlichni, i moje bi, po-dobri hora. Za mnogo godini! =============================================================================== CHAPTER 19: RELIGION ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19-1 What are the roots of Bulgarian Orthodoxy (by by Luben Boyanov) Bulgaria accepted Orthodoxy during the reign of Boris I. His son - Simeon I (the greatest Bulgarian King) made the Bulgarian Church independent from the Byzantine one. During the First Bulgarian Empire, the Bulgarian Church (Patriarchate) had 2 'headquarters' (sorry don't know more details now) - one in Turnovo and one in Ohrid. After the fall of the First Bulgarian Empire (the Bulgarian capital of the last Bulgarian king of the First Bulgarian Empire - Tzar Samuil was Ohrid) Emperor Basil II (the Bulgar-slayer) did not abolish the Bulgarian Patriarchate in Ohrid. It survived (and was called Bulgarian, even that it was headed by Greek clergy for a long time) until 1766 when it was abolished by the intrigues of the Phanariotes (this was part of the Megali-Idea persued by the clergy of Constantinopol). The Patriarchate in Turnovo was reestablished with the reestablishment of the Second Bulgarian Empire and abolished with its fall - in 1393 (or maybe it was 1396 - the year I remember given as the start of the Ottoman yoke). Due to different reasons, Bulgarians know little on the one of the greatest (and most important) events in their modern history - the reestablishment of their own national church in the Ottoman Empire. This came after several decades of struggle of the Bulgarians with the Phanariotes of Constantinopol (Istanbul) (and the Russian diplomacy). The struggle (which actually started in 1833 when the Bulgarians in Skopie and Samokov refused to continue accepting the Greek clergy) ended with success (even the treath of converting the Bulgarians to Catolicism was used) and on March 10th, 1870 (old style), the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire issued a famous ferman (order), which established the Bulgarian autocephalous Church under a primate entitled Exarch, whose residence was at Constantinopol. On the 16th of Sept 1872, the Greek Orthodox Patriarchy declared the Bulgarian Exrarchate schismatic and the schism lasted until the late 1940-ies (or maybe early 50-ies, and after that Bulgaria's church leader is Patriarch). The jurisdiction of the Exarchate during its establishment was over 15 dioceses ('mitropolii'), including Nish, Pirot and Veles (but not Varna !!!). Other dioceses were to be added in case at least 2/3rd of the Christian local population so desired (this was a not well known but truly democratic act during the 19th century on the Balkans). In virtue of that, the Porte (i.e. the Ottoman administrati- on) subsequently allowed Bulgarian bishops in Ohrid, Uskub (at present - Sko- pie, Monastir, Nevrokop (at present - Goce Delchev), Dibra, and Strumitsa. The Bulgarian Exarch was resident in Constantinopol until the Balkan Wars after which (in 1913), he (at that time - Exarch Joseph) withdrew to Sofia. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19-2 What are the features of Orthodox religion (by Jan Terziyski) Copied without authors' permission from a pamphlet of the "Sveti Nikolai" church (Ochanomizu, Chyoda-ku, Tokyo). FAIR USE ONLY. Our Guide Lines for Holy Communion Orthodox Christians are expected to take Confession before Holy Communion. Let us prepare ourselves with prayers and fasting from the night before. Holy Communion in the Orthodox Church is shared only by Orthodox Christians. Even though there are non-Orthodox Churches which encourage and permit their faithful to take Communion in the Orthodox Church, it is not allowed to do so in the Orthodox Church. Like wise, Orthodox Christians may not take Communion in non-Orthodox Churches. When you are taking Holy Communion in a parish other than your own, please notify the priest before-hand, no later than at the time of Confession. Due to the fact that we receive faithful from all aver the world, sometimes it is difficult to identify a person from other denominations, so please be sure to be able in some way to prove yourself to be Orthodox. Although we deeply regret that it must be, there may be some cases where it is impossible to fully verify the Orthodoxy of the visitor. Therefore, we may ask you to present some form of identification before we can give you Communion. Please be sure to talk with one of the priests as early as possible to avoid such unfortunate incident. Wee thank you for your cooperation. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19-3 Orthodox Christianity in Bulgaria (by Plamen Sivov) NEDELNO UCHILISHTE - S.C.B. DAY 1 - THE CREED (SIMVOL-VERUJU) Most of the systematic explanations of the Orthodox faith are based on the Nicene Creed, which is the ultimate expression and synthesis of the dogma of Orthodoxy and the basis of its teaching and sacramental life. The Creed was adopted between 325 and 381 A.D., shortly after Christianity was no longer persecuted in the Roman Empire. The adoption took place at an Ecumenical Council (Vselenski Subor), which is the only form, recognized by the Orthodox Church even until nowadays for the highest church authority. In this respect it differs very much from Rome, which historically has concentrated much spiritual power in the person of the Bishop of Rome, e.g. the Pope. The Orthodox Church recognizes 7 Ecumenical Councils in its entire history. Originally the Creed was used by the Early Church at baptismal services, when the person who was to be baptized, had to acknowledge his true Christian faith. This baptismal formula, however, later developed into a short, but extremely profound in its theological meaning statement of faith, which has ever since been used as a "testing paper" for any new teaching; in the Creed, it is often said, one can find the whole Bible condensed. In nowadays the Creed is recited (or sung) at every Liturgy, at the moment of the consecration of the bread and the wine. Here is the complete text of the Creed. (Our next topics will deal with the truths of faith revealed in each of its sections.) ENGLISH: 1. I believe in one God, Father Almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth, and of all things visible and invisible. 2. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only- begotten, begotten of the Father before all ages: 3. Light of light, true God of true God, begotten, not made; of one essence with the Father; by Whom all things were made: 4. Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary, and was made man; 5. And was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate; and suffered and was burried; 6. The third day He rose again according to the Scriptures; 7. And ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of the Father; 8. And He shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead; Whose kingdom shall have no end. 9. And I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord and Giver of Life, Who proceeds from the Father, Who with the Father and the Son together is worshipped and glorified, Who spoke by the prophets. 10. I believe in One Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. 11. I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins. I look for the resurrection of the dead and the Life of the world to come. Amen CHURCH-SLAVONIC: Veruju vo edinago Boga Otca, Vsederzhitelja, Tvorca nebu i zemli, vidimim zhe vsem i nevidimim. I vo edinago Gospoda Iisusa Hrista, Sina Bozhija edinorodnago, izhe ot Otca rozhdennago prezhde vseh vek: sveta ot sveta, Boga istinna ot Boga istinna, rozhdenna, ne sotvorenna, edinosushtna Otcu, imzhe vsja bisha. Nas radi chelovek i nashego radi spasenija shedshago s nebes, i voplotivshegosja ot Duha Svjata i Marii Devi, i vochelovechshasja. Razpjatago zhe za ni pri Pontijstem Pilate, i stradavsha, i pogrebena. I vozkresshago v tretij den po pisaniem. I vozshedshego na nebesa i sedjashta otdesnuju Otca. I paki grjadushtago so slavoju, suditi zhivim i mertvim, ego zhe carstvie ne budet konca. I v Duha Svetago, Gospoda, zhivotvorjashtago, izhe ot Otca izhodjashtago, izhe so Otcem i Sinom spoklonjaema i sslavima, glagolavshago proroki. Vo edinu svjatuju, sobornuju i apostolskoju Cerkov. Izpoveduju edino kreshtenie vo ostavlenie grehov. Chaju voskresenija mertvih i zhizni budushtago veka. Amin. In the next days we will examine (very briefly) the meaning of all these somewhat extravagantly sounding sentences. Believe me, it is not as simple as it looks! SUNDAY SCHOOL - DAY 2 THE ACT OF FAITH I BELIEVE... Originally the Creed was recited with "We believe", affirming the "common mind and one heart", the universality of the Church and therefore the emphasis was laid on the collective, rather than the personal aspect of faith. Later, with the development of the Church consciousness and the refinement of the elements of personal religiousness, they started reciting it as a personal, rather than collective statement of faith. But is what is "to believe"? What is "faith"? Is it the self-deceiving whimsical picture of a world, governed by supreme powers, combined with subconscious fear of personal death, that stimulates the mind to create the images of Heaven and Hell? Is it just another ideology? Is it a psychological deviation? What is the relation between "I believe" and "I know"? These are questions, that have troubled the minds of many generations, including our own. Contrary to many people's expectations, the progress of science and technology did not bring about ultimate answers to the ancient questions; the only effect that the technocratic age has had upon the problem of personal faith and the existence of God is that it distracted the attention of whole generations from its clear realization. The result is not the problem's disappearance, but the decreasing number of individuals, who face it in their lifetimes. The Scripture itself explores the different aspects and proper modes of faith. But there is also in it a definition of faith, although very brief. It it to be found in the Epistle to the Hebrews, usually ascribed to St. Paul, one of the Twelve apostles: "Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders (i.e. the Jews in the Old Testament - P.S.) obtained a good testimony. By faith we understand that the worlds were fraimed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are visible." (Heb. 11:1). This short statement is one of the most explored passages in the Bible, especially nowadays, with the recent development of gnoseology, the science of rational perception and knowledge. Therefore a statement a faith presupposes knowledge, but not the kind of knowledge we all know from our sensual or mental experience. As it refers to a reality different from our material world and beyond it (transcendental), the tools of natural science are useless, if we want to get to know it. The spiritual reality, the existence of God and the angelic powers cannot be "detected" with any technological means or by the rational means of analysis. The usual question of the non-believers "Where is God? Show Him to me!" thus has no meaning and is a consequence of misunderstanding of the difference between the two realities - the created and the uncreated one (e.g. the material world - the Universe), and the transcendent existence of God, which is beyond the borders of our knowledge and understanding. A natural question would be "Where do we get this supernatural knowledge about God, then? Since He is so unreachable by any human means, how would we even know of His existence?" This is the problem of the sources of the divine revelation. We can distinguish several such sources: - the material world itself. The law of cause and effect could be applied to trace the mere fact of the Being's existence (which in itself is an effect) to its pre- existential cause, which, according to the believers, is God himself. This is called "the ontological argument". - the moral law in Man. The ability to distinguish between good and evil, the subtle sensitivity about an ever- existing supreme justice; inspite of many behavioral explanations of the moral phenomena, still one of the most profound and convincing explanations are the theological ones. - the feeling of a purpose in the life of the individual and the existence of the Universe. This is the "teleological argument". - the recorded Revelation - the Bible or the Word of God. It consists of the Old and the New Testaments, the Old being the sacred writings of the Jewish nation, covering a long period of its history and actually regarding the events of this hisotry as a manifestation of God's intervention in human history in general. The New Testament is an account of the fulfillment of the expectations of a Messiah, a legendary figure, expected by the ancient Jews and foreseen in their prophetic writings. The Messiah is Jesus Christ the Nazarene, a real figure, who has lived during the rule of Herod, king of the Roman province of Judea. In the person of Christ, according to Orthodoxy, the ultimate revelation is to be completed - God Himself takes human nature and "walks among us in flesh". The meaning and purpose of this incarnation will be discussed later. Generally speaking, there is nothing in the physical reality that can not serve as some sort of revelation; all human cultures have developed different imagery, stories and beliefs to express something common for all mankind - the deeply rooted in every human being religiousness, i.g. the possibility, the potential of religious faith, of direct perception of the divine. Therefore, when an Orthodox Christian starts his/her statement of faith with "I believe...", he is not speaking to himself and is not proclaiming a desired state of things, having nothing to do with reality. He is rather answering a supernatural call for obedience and recognition, that comes from outside, and at the ame time from his own personal depths. It is the outward expression of Man's personal act of faith, carried out again and again, reaching to find his own self-identity in a complicated world. In those two simple words there is a whole ontology (vision of the essence of being) and a clear anthropology (vision of the essence of Man); a picture of a created Universe and a response from a living soul to the divine call from its Creator. The act of faith is a necessary first step on the path of Christian fulfillment. Without faith the secret knowledge of God will not be revealed; the virtues cannot be practiced effectively and salvation cannot be achieved. There are dozens of examples in the Bible on the importance of personal faith for receiving the grace of God, His loving- kindness and forgiveness. Strictly speaking the nonbeliever is in a different state or mode of being than the believer, he/she has a different supernatural status - not only in the eyes of God, but objectively, in his own nature. Reproachful, as it may sound, this is an argument, upon which many religions agree (I mean the status of Man before and after the personal act of faith). Believers know the difference and that is one of the main drives for evangelism (please do not associate it with street or TV evangelism), of sharing the Good News with others and thus helping them to partake in the divine nature and to perceive the truths from the "other reality" I already mentioned. In my next posting I will deal in brief with the other part of the first section of the Creed, namely, the dogma of the Holy Trinity and His three persons (hipostasis). VOCABULARY: Godhead - Bozhestvo. The Holy Trinity, regarded in its unity, rather than in the aspect of the differences between the three Persons. Religion - from re-legare, a Latin word for "to reunite", to join together something that has previously been broken or cut apart. Bible - from "biblia" (Greek word for "books"), i.g. the collection of the sacred writings of Christianity. A general agreement on the contents of the Bible was reached no earlier than the 3-4th century, when there was a need of a common written source for all Christians. This concerns only the books of the New Testament; the Old Testament is basically all the major books of the Jewish Torrah (The Five Books, ascribed to Moses) and the writings of prophets, poets, hitorians, etc. - but every book deals with some aspect of the revelation of God to the Jewish nation. NEDELNO UCHILISHTE - DAY 3 THE PERSONS OF THE TRINITY (I believe) IN ONE GOD... The first section of the Creed deals with the object of the Orthodox religious worship - the Holy Trinity, who has revealed to mankind His presence and role in the history of the nations, as well as in the personal lives of millions of people. All religions worship some sort of a divine Person, or Being, or Essence. Some tend to depersonalize the Godhead and often talk about the Spirit of Nature, or the Spirit of the Universe, who has not any aspects, similar to the Man's personality. This group of religions constitute the pantheism, the "all-is-God" view, associated mainly with the religious systems of Buddhism, Hinduism, etc. The religious experience for them can be very strong, even ecstatic, but never personal, i.e. promoting the individual uniqueness and the person-to-person relation with God. For us Christians God is doubtlessly a Person, although not in the same sense in which man is a person. The psychological sciences have achieved a lot to explain the process of the formation of individuality and personality in Man; obviously, this process has a lot to do with the external influences (from the parents or the society). This is not the case with God. His Person has never been formed and is not a subject to any change or development (because God exists beyond Space and Time). More importantly, He has a Being-in-Himself, that is, he does not owe His existence to an external cause, as we all do; He is self-sufficient in His Divinity. The problem of the Person of God is one of the most difficult to understand. One of the reasons for this is that it is very much related with the problem of the Essence of God, which is beyond any human understanding. The other reason is the fact that we, having been granted human personalities by God, often tend to "create" a God of our own "image and likeness". No matter how tempting this may seem, it has ever to be avoided by the true seekers. The anthropocentricity, as this is called, can be overcome only by a real personal relation with God; a relation dominated not by pride, but by humiliation and an honest desire to know God better, which is a natural desire, implanted in every man's soul, no matter how distorted it may be. The detailed history of God's revelation as One God (opposed to the polytheism of most of the nations at that time) is to be found throughout the books of the Old Testament, since the very first page. ...THE FATHER... Now probably some people may think: "Well, if that is not anthropomorphism (ascribing aspects of the human nature to God), then I don't know what is". Calling the Godhead "a Father", and therefore ascribing to it human characteristics, may seem strange and primitive. Actually there are a lot of reasons for calling God "Father". First, our relationship with Him is very much like a fatherhood and a sonhood, as He is our Creator and we owe Him our existence. Second, the love of a father for his children is an image of God's love for every individual of mankind. There are also many other theological arguments for this name. But, above all, God Himself is calling us His sons and Jesus referred to Him as "Father". It has been become a fashion recently for some groups to talk about the "feminine aspect of God" and to address Him by other names. But for an Orthodox Christian, it is clear that God is above any sexuality and gender; nevertheless He Himself has taught us to address Him as Father. Sometimes, especially in the spiritual matters, obedience is more important than understanding and understanding of a spiritual truth comes after a certain period of obedience. Also, the Father is the name of one of the three Persons (hypostaseis) of the Godhead, the other two being the Son (Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit. The relation between God's unity and diversity at the same time will be examined later. ...ALMIGHTY, MAKER OF HEAVEN AND EARTH, AND OF ALL THINGS VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE. These are words, referring to some of the attributes of God. He is almighty, (omnipotent; in Slavonic: Vsederzhitel) that is, His powers and abilities transcend any human imagination or understanding. The omnipotence of God's divine nature expresses itself in the creation of the world, that is, the Universe. "Heaven and Earth" does not necessarily mean the physical sky and the planet Earth; it includes the whole Nature, the Cosmos, all dimensions, planets, stars and aspects of the material being, both known and unknown to Man. The things which are "visible" are the realities of the physical Universe, while "invisible" refers to the spiritual realities (for example, the angelic powers). The act of Creation is one of the ultimate self- expressions of God. Not that He needs such self-expression, but because it is a sign of His Divine Love. ("God is Love", the Gospel says, and through Love we find Him. Therefore, Christians view this world as an enigmatic signature of God; by exploring the material aspects of Nature many scientists have come to a greater faith in God - such as Isaac Newton, for example.) VOCABULARY: Omnipotence - the unlimited and unconditional powers and abilities of God to dispose of His own creation. Omnipresence (vezdesushtnost) - God is not "living" somewhere beyond the borders of the known Universe and actually He is not occupying any particular space at any particular time. Being above the dimensions, He is at the same time ever-present in all of them, everywhere and all the time. Being a "Superperson" He is also able to relate to each and everyone of all the human beings, without neglecting anybody and fully present any time we call on His holy name. Angelic powers - spiritual beings, created before the first men, which do not possess material shape or nature and only occasionally can appear as visible messengers of God. The angelic powers are not completely revealed to us; we know very little of them. But the Scripture makes it quite clear that: 1) they exist; 2) part of them have turned away from God, using their free will for disobedience; they are called demons; 3) there are multitudes of them and they form a certain hierarchy (the Orthodox church formally agrees on seven angelic ranks, although for some of them virtually nothing is known, except that they are mentioned in the Scripture.) It should be pointed out, that knowledge about the teaching of the Church on the angelic powers is extremely important today, when many people speculate with the spiritual hunger of the people and claim to be in contact with spirits, extraterrestrials, angels, etc. The Church has been dealing with such "paranormal" cases for centuries and has worked out many rules for our proper relation to such phenomena. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19-4 Orthodox Calendar (by Plamen Sivov) (This entry is in Bulgarian) PRAVOSLAVIETO I GREGORIANSKIJAT KALENDAR Tqj kato istorijata na kalendarnoto razminavane beshe veche nakratko izjasnena, shte opisha s dve dumi segashnata situacija - kakva e pozici- jata na Pravoslavieto po tozi vqpros. Pqrvo, ne biva da zabravjame, che vqv vsjaka svetovna religija kalendarqt ima osobeno mjasto. Za razlika ot svetskoto letobroene, koeto e poveche ili po-malko pragmatichno otchitane na vremeto na bazata na obshtoprieti standarti, cqrkovnoto vreme e neshto sqvsem drugo. Ne e sluchajno, che sq- vremennata civilizacija otchita vremeto si sprjamo tochno opredelena toch- ka vqv vremeto - predpolagaemata godina na razhdaneto na Iisus ot Nazaret. No dokato za sveta tova e prosto kulturen fenomen, za Cqrkvata toj ima dql- boko religiozno sqdqrzhanie; v razhdaneto na Hrista vjarvashtite vizhdat grandiozno sqbitie s kosmicheski izmerenija, tochkata na presichane na Bozhestvenoto i choveshkoto i nachaloto na spasitelnata misija za chovesh- kija rod. S edna duma za Cqrkvata vremeto ne e prosta fizicheska velichina, no izmerenie sqs sakramentalno znachenie. Sledvajki podobni sqobrazhenija nikoj ne bi obvinil v "konservatizqm" evreite, kitajcite ili mjusulmanite, che si imat svoj sobstven kalendar. Prosto vqprosqt ne e prjako svqrzan s pragmatichnata strana na neshtata... Taka praznicite v Cqrkvata se razlichavat ot svetskite praznici. Godishnijat cikql na bogosluzhenijata e zatvoren, kato tazi ciklichnost simvolizira bez- krajnostta na Boga, a vseki praznik ne e prosto pripomnjane na vazhno sqbi- tie, a prichastjavane s tazi bezkrajnost. Eto zashto vqprosite okolo kalen- dara ne sa ednoznachni i ne iziskvat zadqlzhitelno pragmatichnija podhod za razreshavaneto im, za razlika ot podobni razlichija v svetskite merni sis- temi (kontinentalnata metrichna i amerikanskata, naprimer). Oshte edin faktor trjabva da se otchita, kogato stava vqpros za kalendarni razlichija mezhdu Pravoslavieto i Rimokatolicizma - shizmata (razdelenieto), kojato razdeli ednata Hristova, Vselenska i Apostolska Cqrkva prez 11 vek. Vzaimnite podozrenija, obvinenija i nedoverie ne sa se prekratili nito za mig ottogava. I dori kogato Rim e pravil novovqvedenija, potiknat ne ot zla umisql, a ot sqobrazhenija za praktichnost, Iztokqt e predpochital da ne se sqobrazjava s nego. Obratnoto sqshto se e sluchvalo nevednqzh. Shto se otnasja do kalendara obache, v momenta v pravoslavnija svjat preob- ladavat novokalendarcite. Do kraja na I sv. vojna vsichki pravoslavni izpo- lzvat starija stil, ili Julianskija kalendar, kojto, kakto stana jasno, dnes izostava ot Gregorianskija s 13 dni. Prez 1923 Vselenskijat Patriarh (tradi- cionnata titla na episkopa na Konstantinopol (sega Istanbul)) svikva Mezhdu- pravoslaven kongres, na kojto prisqstvat delegati ot Sqrbija, Rumqnija, Gqrcija i Kipqr. Patriarsite na Ierusalim i Antiohija otkazvat da izpratjat delegati, Aleksandrijskijat Patriarh dori ne otgovarja na pokanata. Bqlgar- skata Cqrkva ne e pokanena. Sred njakolkoto vqprosi, s koito se zanimava kongresqt, e i kalendarqt, i po-tochno predlozhenieto za priemane na zapad- nija stil. Prez 1924 g. Konstantinopol vqvezhda novija stil i skoro sqshtoto pravjat cqrkvite v Aleksandrija, Antiohija, Gqrcija, Kipqr, Rumqnija i Pol- sha. (Bqlgarija priema novija stil prez 1968 g.) Cqrkvite na Rusija, Ieru- salim, Sqrbija, kakto i manasitrite v Sveta Gora ne priemat novovqvedenieto. Prakticheski obache cjalata Pravoslavna Cqrkva praznuva Velikden pochti vi- nagi ednovremenno sqs Zapada, a Finlandskata pravoslavna cqrkva izcjalo se sqobrazjava s Gregorianskija kalendar. Za mnogo pravoslavni priemaneto na novija stil se svqrzva s kapitulacija pred "shizmaticite", sirech, pred Rim i razumnite osnovanija za edna taka- va stqpka, kojato bi sqdejstvala za svetovnoto hristijansko edinstvo prosto se prenebregvat v imeto na starata vrazhda. V mnogo pravoslavni strani, vkljuchitelno i v BG, se pojaviha grupi na "starokalendarcite", nastojava- shti za vrqshtane kqm starija stil, pozovavajki se na argumenta, che spored kanonichnoto pravo promjanata na kalendara iziskva obshtoto sqglasie na vsi- chki pravoslavni cqrkvi i sledovatelno reshenijata, vzeti v Konstantinopol sa nishtozhni. No dokato monasite ot Sveta Gora, othvqrljajki novija kalen- dar, ne prekqsvat edinenieto si s Konstantinopolskija Patriarh, njakoi kraj- ni grupi se objavjavat za "istinskata" i "chista" pravoslavna cqrkva, iz- kljuchvajki se ot svetovnoto pravoslavno obshtenie. V Bqlgarija tova e gru- pata na Rosen Siromahov, provqzglasen za "Episkop Triadicki" i rqkopolozhen ot grqcki starokalendarski episkop. Amerikanskata Pravoslavna Cqrkva, makar che e pod jurisdikcijata na Ruskija Patriarh, sqbljudava novija stil, koeto pokazva, che kalendarqt ne e prob- lem, zaradi kojto si zasluzhava da se razdelja Cqrkvata. Taka pone mislja az. :-) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19-5 What is Theophany (Bogoyavlenie/Yordanov Den) (by Plamen Sivov) (This entry is in Bulgarian) BOGOJAVLENIE (JORDANOVDEN) OR THEOPHANY (MANIFESTATION OF GOD) - 6 January Chestit imen den na Jordanovcite (malko e ranichko, ama nishto). Eto nakratko smisula na praznika spored Pravoslavnata curkva: Na tozi den se praznuva krushtenieto na Iisus Hristos vuv vodite na reka Jordan (ottuk - Jordanovden). Subitieto e opisano ot vsichki evangelisti (Mateja 3:13-17, Marko 1:9- 11, Luka 3:21-23 i Ioan 1:29-34) i se naricha Bogojavlenie, zashtoto pred prisustvashtite na nego ednovremenno se otkrivat trite lica na Svetata Troica - Iisus Hristos - Sina Bozhi, krushtavan v rekata, Svetija Duh, slizasht vuv vid na gulub nad nego i glasa na Otca, proglasjavasht ot nebeto: "Tova e mojat vuzlyuben sin, v kogoto e moeto blagovolenie". ENGLISH: The Orthodox Church attaches a great importance to this feast, because of its deep theological significance. What is selebrated is not so much the historical fact of the manifestation of the Holy Trinity to the world for the very first time, nor the beginning of Christ's public life, nor again the baptism, administered by John the Baptist: it is rather the manifestation of God's glory, of His love for mankind, of His mercy and compassion expressed in the person of Jesus Christ, Who assumed flesh and became Man in order to become a sacrifice of salvation for the sake of all men. "The grace of God our Savior has appeared to all men" (Tit., 2:11). Inspired by the baptism of Christ and by this stirring of divine life, poured forth for the salvation and sanctification of mankind, the early Church reserved this day for the baptism of catechumens (in Slavonic "oglasheni", e.g. those who are preparing themselves for the sacrament of baptism, but are not members of the Church yet), increasingly repeating with St. Paul: "As many have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." ("Vie, koito se krustihte v Hrista, v Hrista se i obljakohte"). Na praznika se pravi Vodosvet, za da pomnim, che s krushtenieto si Gospod osveti vodata, a s neja i cjaloto Tvorenie. ENGLISH: Blessed water will be used by the priest to sprinkle the homes of the faithful. The priest thus consecrates to God their lives and works and sufferings. "O Lord, be in our thoughts, in our words, in our deeds, in our tears and in our laughter. O Lord, let your presence be felt in this house, and in those who enter therein, as it was felt by John as You were baptized in the Jordan River." (from the ritual) PRAYER, recited by the priest: "Today the land and the sea divide between them the joy of the world, and the world is filled with rejoicing. The waters behold You, O Lord: the waters behold You and they fear; the Jordan River turns back its course as it beholds the fire of the Godhead coming down upon it and entering it in the flesh; the Jordan River turns back its course as it beholds the Holy Spirit descending in the likeness of a dove, and hovering above it; the Jordan River turns back its course as it beholds the Invisible made visible, the Creator existing in the flesh, and the Master in the likeness of a servant; the Jordan River turns back its course, and the mountains shout with glee as they behold God in the flesh. And the clouds give voice, and are filled with awe by the One who is coming, Light of Light, true God of true God; the One who, in the Jordan River, has drowned the death of sin, the thorn of error, and the bond of Hades, and granted the baptism of salvation to the world. So also am I, your unworthy and sinful servant, encompassed by fear as I proclaim your great wonders; and I cry out reverently to you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19-6 Annunciation (by Plamen Sivov), last updated: 31-Jul-1994 (This entry is in Bulgarian) 25 Maj - Blagoveshtenie. (Annunciation) Edin ot naj-svetlite pravoslavni praznici. V neznachitelnoto gradche Nazaret edna mlada devica, sgodena za vdoveca Josif, poluchava otkrovenieto, za koeto vekove nared sa mechtali pokolenija evrejski zheni - da bqdat udo- stoeni s chestta da rodjat i vqzpitat bqdeshtija Mesija, spasitelja ne samo na evreite, no i na celija choveshki rod ot okovite na greha i smqrtta. Ot oskqdnite biblejski tekstove i apokrifnata ranna hristijanska li- teratura Maria ni se otkriva kato neobiknovena zhena, nesluchajno izbrana za velikata misija na bogovqplqshtenieto. NeSluchajno Cqrkvata ja naricha s naj- razlichni imena, otrazjavashti nravstvenata j chistota i pokornost sprjamo Boga - "prechista", "presveta"; kakto i osnovnoto j kachestvo - Bogorodica, zhenata, ot kojato Bog poluchava chovechestvoto si, neobhodimo za pqlnotata na izkupitelnata misija na Hrista. Simvolichno vseki ot nas nosi Hrista v sebe si, v mjarata na vjarata si i dobrite si dela. Za da napredvame v hristijanskite dobrodeteli obache, neobhodimo e kato Maria da se pokorim na Boga, da se smirim "dori do smqrt", za da poluchim blagodatta v pqlnota. Neka na tozi den si pozhelaem duhovni ochi da vizhdame angela do se- be si i neka se podgotvim da posreshtnem v duh na smirenie i chistota veli- kata vest za Hristovoto vqzkresenie. Amin. Sledvat molitvite za tozi den, cheteni na liturgijata: Molitva kqm Bogorodica (Bogorodice, Devo; Hail Mary) - na slavjanski: Bogorodice, Devo, radujsja! Blagodatnaja Marie, Gospod s toboju; Blagoslovena si v zhenah i blagosloven plod chreva tvoego, jako Spasa rodila esi dush nashih. Rejoice, Virgin of God! Blessed Mary, God is with you; Blessed are you amongst women and blessed is the fruit of your womb, because you have given birth to the Savior of our souls. Dostojno est (Meet It Is): Dostojno est jako voistinu blazhiti tja Bogorodicu, prisnoblazhennuju i preneporochnuju i mater Boga nashego. Chestnejshuju heruvim i slavnejshuju bez sravnenija serafim; Bez iztlenija Boga Slova rozhdshuju, sushtuju Bogorodicu tja velichaem. It is right and just to bless you, Oh Theotokos, everblessed and pure and the Mother of our God. More honorable than the cherubim and more glorious beyond compare than the seraphim; Without defilement you gave birth to God the Word; True Theotokos, we magnify you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 19-7 Holy Thursday and Holy Friday (by Plamen Sivov), last updated: 31-Jul-1994 HOLY THURSDAY AND HOLY FRIDAY (repost from an Orthodox listserver) "The vigil on the eve of Holy Thursday is dedicated exclusively to the Passover Supper which Christ celebrated with his twelve apostles. The main theme of the day is the meal itself at which Christ commanded that the Passover of the New Covenant is to be eaten in remembrance of himself, of his body broken and his blood shed for the remission of sins. In addition, the betrayal of Judas and Christ's washing of the disciple's feet is also central to the liturgical commemoration of the day...The liturgical celebration of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday is not merely the annual remembrance of the 'institution' of the sacrament of Holy Communion. Indeed the very event of the Passover Meal itself was not merely the last-minute action by the Lord to 'institute' the central sacrament of the Christian Faith before his passion and death. On the contrary, the entire mission of Christ, and indeed the very purpose for the creation of the world in the first place, is so that God's beloved creature, made in his own divine image and likeness, could be in the most intimate communion with him for eternity, sitting at the table with him, eating and drinking in his unending kingdom...Thus the 'Mystical Supper of the Son of God' which is continually celebrated in the Divine Liturgy of the Christian Church, is the very essence of what life in God's Kingdom will be for eternity..." "The Matins of Holy Friday is generally celebrated Thursday night. The main feature of this service is the reading of twelve selections from the Gospels, all of which are accounts of the passion of Christ...The first service belonging to Holy Saturday, called in the Church the Blessed Sabbath, is the Vespers of Good Friday. It is usually celebrated in the mid-afternoon to commemorate the burial of Jesus..." [From, "Worship"--"The Orthodox Faith" by Fr. Thomas Hopko.] =============================================================================== CHAPTER 20: SPORTS ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20-1 How did Bulgaria perform at the World Football (Soccer) Cups (by Karel Stokkermans) *** World Cup 1962 (Chile, May 30-June 17) FIRST PHASE Group IV (Rancagua) Argentina 1-0 Bulgaria 1.HUNGARY 3 2 1 0 8- 2 5 Hungary 2-1 England 2.ENGLAND 3 1 1 1 4- 3 3 Argentina 1-3 England 3.Argentina 3 1 1 1 2- 3 3 Bulgaria 1-6 Hungary 4.Bulgaria 3 0 1 2 1- 7 1 Argentina 0-0 Hungary (England takes quarterfinal spot ahead Bulgaria 0-0 England of Argentina on goal average.) *** World Cup 1966 (England, July 11-30) FIRST PHASE Group III (Liverpool and Manchester) Brazil 2-0 Bulgaria 1.PORTUGAL 3 3 0 0 9- 2 6 Portugal 3-1 Hungary 2.HUNGARY 3 2 0 1 7- 5 4 Hungary 3-1 Brazil 3.Brazil 3 1 0 2 4- 6 2 Portugal 3-0 Bulgaria 4.Bulgaria 3 0 0 3 1- 8 0 Portugal 3-1 Brazil Hungary 3-1 Bulgaria *** World Cup 1970 (Mexico, May 31-June 21) FIRST PHASE Group IV (Leon) Peru 3-2 Bulgaria 1.WEST GERMANY 3 3 0 0 10- 4 6 Morocco 1-2 West Germany 2.PERU 3 2 0 1 7- 5 4 Peru 3-0 Morocco 3.Bulgaria 3 0 1 2 5- 9 1 Bulgaria 2-5 West Germany 4.Morocco 3 0 1 2 2- 6 1 Peru 1-3 West Germany Bulgaria 1-1 Morocco *** World Cup 1974 (West Germany, June 13-July 7) FIRST PHASE Group III (D"usseldorf, Hannover and Dortmund) Sweden 0-0 Bulgaria 1.NETHERLANDS 3 2 1 0 6- 1 5 Uruguay 0-2 Netherlands 2.SWEDEN 3 1 2 0 3- 0 4 Netherlands 0-0 Sweden 3.Bulgaria 3 0 2 1 2- 5 2 Bulgaria 1-1 Uruguay 4.Uruguay 3 0 1 2 1- 6 1 Bulgaria 1-4 Netherlands Sweden 3-0 Uruguay *** World Cup 1986 (Mexico, May 31-June 29) FIRST PHASE Group I (Ciudad de Mexico and Puebla) Bulgaria 1-1 Italy 1.ARGENTINA 3 2 1 0 6- 2 5 Argentina 3-1 South Korea 2.ITALY 3 1 2 0 5- 4 4 Italy 1-1 Argentina 3.BULGARIA 3 0 2 1 2- 4 2 South Korea 1-1 Bulgaria 4.South Korea 3 0 1 2 4- 7 1 South Korea 2-3 Italy Argentina 2-0 Bulgaria 1/8 FINALS Ciudad de Mexico Mexico 2-0 Bulgaria ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20-2 How did the Bulgarian soccer team perform in the qualifications for WC 94 (by Dragomir R. Radev) Bulgaria - France 2:0 France - Bulgaria 1:2 Bulgaria - Finland 2:0 Finland - Bulgaria 0:3 Bulgaria - Israel 2:2 Israel - Bulgaria 0:2 Bulgaria - Sweden 1:1 Sweden - Bulgaria 2:0 Bulgaria - Austria 4:1 Austria - Bulgaria 3:1 GROUP SIX: ---------- P W D L F A Pts GD Sweden 10 6 3 1 19 8 15 +11 Bulgaria 10 6 2 2 19 10 14 + 9 -------------------------------------------------- France 10 6 1 3 17 10 13 + 7 Austria 10 3 2 5 15 16 8 - 1 Finland 10 2 1 7 9 18 5 - 9 Israel 10 1 3 6 10 27 5 -17 (source: rec.sport.soccer) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20-3 Bulgaria in WC94 (by Dragomir R. Radev), last updated: 31-Jul-1994 preliminary round Bulgaria - Nigeria 0:3 Bulgaria - Greece 4:0 Bulgaria - Argentina 2:0 Rankings in Group D: W T L GF GA PTS Nigeria 2 0 1 6 2 6 * Bulgaria 2 0 1 6 3 6 * Argentina 2 0 1 6 3 6 * Greece 0 0 3 0 10 0 ---- * - qualifies for next round 1/8 finals Bulgaria - Mexico 4:2 (p.k., 1:1 in regulation and OT) 1/4 finals Bulgaria - Germany 2:1 1/2 finals Bulgaria - Italy 1:2 3-4 place game Bulgaria - Sweden 0:4 total record: 4 wins (including one on p.k.) 1 tie 3 losses 10-11 goal differential scorers: 6 - Stoichkov 2 - Lechkov 1 - Sirakov 1 - Borimirov ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20-4 Bulgaria in the European Championships (1960) (by Yulian Donchev) 1958 - 1960 (This was the first one) 31.5.1959 Belgrade: Yugoslavia - Bulgaria 2:0 25.10.1959 Sofia: Bulgaria - Yugoslavia 1:1 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20-5 Schedule of our group for soccer World Cup 1998 (by Konstantin Kostov, Dragomir R. Radev), last updated: 03-Jan-1997 Match schedule for the 1998 World Cup European qualifying group five which was decided on Monday: 1996 September 1 - Israel v Bulgaria 2:1 Russia v Cyprus 4:0 September 8 - Luxembourg v Bulgaria 1:2 October 9 - Israel v Russia 1:1 November 10 - Cyprus v Israel 2:0 - Luxembourg v Russia 0:4 December 14 - Cyprus v Bulgaria 1:3 December 15 - Israel v Luxembourg 1:0 1997 March 29 - Cyprus v Russia March 30 - Luxembourg v Israel April 30 - Israel v Cyprus - Russia v Luxembourg June 8 - Russia v Israel - Bulgaria v Luxembourg August 20 - Bulgaria v Israel September 7 - Luxembourg v Cyprus September 10 - Bulgaria v Russia October 11 - Russia v Bulgaria - Cyprus v Luxembourg ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20-6 Hristo Stoichkov (by Iskander Ayari), last updated: 31-Jul-1994 Name: Hristo Stoichkov Citizenship: Bulgarian Born on 08/02/1966 in Plovdiv (Bulgaria) Height: 1m78 Weight: 73 Kg Position: FW Previous clubs: Maritza Plovdiv, USM, Youri Gagarine, Hebross, CSKA Sofia, FC Barcelona. Palmares: Champion of Bulgaria (1987, 89, 90), Bulgarian cup winner (1985, 87, 88, 89), Bulgarian super-cup winner (1989), Champion of Spain (1991, 92, 93), Spanish super-cup winner (1992), EC1 winner (1992), Golden boot "Soulier d'Or" 1990 (38 goals), "Onze d'Or" 1992. He is the son of a former employee at the Ministery of Defense. Hristo Stoichkov started his football life in Plovdiv. As a "Number 5" then switched to all positions. Un "exile" at Hebross Harmanli (near the turkish frontier), and then the fabulous player moves in 1984 to the militarians of CSKA Sofia. He was already distinguishable for his strong character. Despite the incidents that occured during the 1985 cup final, which opposed his team to Levski Spartak Sofia and that costs him to be banned for life (PBG manager was in Bulgaria in that time and remembers perfectly that game in which GK Mihailov from Levski was banned too). The ban was then reduced to a 1 year suspension. "The bitch", renamed later as "The fool" (because of all the things he says, and of his extravagant behaviour), is going to reveal its talents. Elected three years in a row as "best player of the year", he is going to win almost everything with CSKA. "Golden Boot" in 1990, tying Hugo Sanchez, he moves to Barcelona. Despite a mitigated start, a new two month suspension and conflictual relations with El Mister Cruijff -his past idole- (who is going to make him be a "number 8"), the president Nunez and the refereeing staff, "Itso" becomes quickly Camp Nou's darling. On May 21st, 1992, he brings back the EC1 trophy to Barcelone. Approached by Napoli, Inter and PSG, he finally decides to stay with Barc~a (his contract runs till 96). After a terrific start of season -he loses the "Golden Ball" (Ballon d'Or) with just a few votes difference- he deceived last season. But this season, he rapidly got to his optimal level, and is ready to face Milan in the final of EC1, and to bring the Bulgarian National team its first win in a World-Cup competition game. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20-7 Bulgarian teams in the UEFA cups. (by Plamen Petkov), last updated: 01-Aug-1995 1990-91 Champion's Cup (EC1) Cup Winers' Cup (EC2) 1rd KA (Akueyri) Isl - CSKA 1-0 0-3 FC Sliven - Juventus 0-2 1-6 2rd Bayern Munich - CSKA 4-0 3-0 UEFA (EC3) 1rd FC Slavia - Omonia (Nicosia) 2-1 2-4 1991-992 (EC1) (EC2) 1rd FC Kaiserslautern - ETAR 2-0 1-1 FC Levski - Ferencvarosi (Hun) 2-3 1-4 (EC3) 1rd FC Slavia - CA Ossasuna Esp 1-0 0-4 CSKA - PARMA * 0-0 1-1 2rd Hamburger Ger - CSKA 2-0 4-1 1992-1993 (EC1) (EC2) 1rd FK Austria Vienna -CSKA 3-1 2-3 FK Levski - Lucerne (Swi) 2-1 0-1* (EC3) 1rd FC Lokomotiv (Plovdiv) - AJ Auxerre 2-2 1-7 Fenerbahce (Tur) - Botev (Plovdiv) 3-1 2-2 1993-94 (EC1) (EC2) 1rd Rangers (Glasgow) - FK Levski 3-2 1-2* CSKA - Balzers (Lie) 8-0 3-1 2rd FC Levski - Werder (Bremen) 2-2 0-1 Benfika - CSKA 3-1 3-1 (EC3) 1rd Lazio - FC Lokomotiv (Plovdiv) 2-0 2-0 Botev (Plovdiv) - Olympiakos 2-3 1-5 1994-95 (EC1) (EC2) Preliminary round Mjamame predstavitel FC Pirin (Blagoevgrad) - FC Schaan (Lie) 3-0 1-0 1rd Pirin - Panathinaikos 0-2 0-6 (EC3) Preliminary round CSKA - Ararat (Yerevan) 3-0 0-0 Olimpija (Ljubjana) - FC Levski 3-2 2-1 1rd CSKA - Juventus 3-2* 1-5 * v posledstvie UEFA prisadi sluzebna pobeda (0-3) za Juventus zashtoto Mihtarski , ne e bil kartotikiran navreme i e njamal pravo da igrae v tozi mach za CSKA. Pechalnata statistika po otbori za poslednite 5 sezona uchastia pobedi ravni zagubi specheleni tochki tochkov prinos za UEFA rankings za uchastie 1. Pirin 1 2 0 2 4 4 2. CSKA 5 5 3 10 13 2.6 3. Slavia 2 2 0 2 4 2 4. Levski 4 2 1 5 5 1.25 5. Etar 1 0 1 1 1 1 6. Botev 2 0 1 3 1 0.50 7. Loko Pl 2 0 1 3 1 0.50 8. Sliven 1 0 0 2 0 0 Statistika po godini za rodniat ni kluben futbol P R Z Tochki Broi na Otborite Koeficient tochki/otb 1990-91 2 0 6 4 3 1.333 1991-92 1 3 6 5 4 1.25 1992-93 2 2 4 6 4 1.5 1993-94 3 1 8 7 4 1.75 1994-95 3 1 6 7 3 2.333 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20-8 How did Bulgarian teams perform in the 1993-94 UEFA cups (by Dragomir R. Radev) 1st round (Sept. 15 and Sept. 29): Botev Plovdiv - *Olympiakos 2:3 1:5 (UEFA Cup) Glasgow Rangers - *Levski 3:2 1:2 (Champions' Cup) *CSKA - Balzers Liechtenstein 8:0 3:1 (Cup Holders' Cup) Lokomotiv Plovdiv - *Lazio 0:2 0:2 (UEFA Cup) Note: the teams marked with * advance to the second round. 2nd round (Oct. 20 and Nov. 3): Levski - *Werder Bremen 2:2 0:1 *Benfica - CSKA 3:1 3:1 Note: the teams marked with * advance to the third round. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20-9 How did Bulgaria perform at the 1992 Olympic Games (by Dragomir R. Radev) GOLD ---- Ivan Ivanov Weightlifting 52 kg Nikolay Boukhalov Canoe 500 m singles Nikolay Boukhalov Canoe 1000 m singles SILVER ------ Valentin Getsov Free-style wrestling 68 kg Vessela Letcheva Air-Rifle Nonka Matova Smallbore Rifle - 3 positions Nikolai Peshalov Weightlifting 60 kg Yoto Yotov Weightlifting 67.5 kg Tsvetanka Khristova Discus DANIEL BOJINOV BOXING 48 KG BRONZE ------ Valentin Yordanov Free-Style Wrestling 114.5 lb. (???? kg) Maria Zdravkova (Grozdeva?) Air-Pistol Yordanka Donkova 100 m Hurdles Svilen Roussinov Boxing 201+ lb. (????? kg) Martin Marinov, Blagovest Stoyanov Canoe 500 doubles Stefan Botev Weightlifting 110 kg Comments: A TOTAL OF 16 MEDALS (3 GOLD, 7 SILVER, 6 BRONZE) In weightlifting (after all events) : 4 medals ONLY. In rhythmic gymnastics : NO medal Spelling : according to the official spelling used in the newspapers. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20-10 Who are the most famous Bulgarian athletes of all times (by Dragomir R. Radev) I am accepting nominations for this entry. So far (not in any specific order); Georgi Asparuhov (Gundi) - football(soccer) Dan Kolov - wrestling Manuela Maleeva - tennis Magdalena Maleeva - tennis Katerina Maleeva - tennis Stefka Kostadinova - track & field (high jump) Yordanka Donkova - track & field (100 m hurdles) Nurair Nurikyan - weightlifting Stefan Botev - weightlifting Antonio Krqstev - weightlifting Naum Shalamanov (Naim Suleymanov) - weightlifting Stefan Topurov - weightlifting Hristo Markov - track & field (triple jump) Tanya Bogomilova - swimming Hristo Stoichkov - football(soccer) Yordanka Hristova - track & field (discus) Anelia Ralenkova - gymnastics Iliana Raeva - gymnastics Lili Ignatova - gymnastics Petqr Georgiev - diving ...and a lot more ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20-11 Who is Magdalena Maleeva? (by Dragomir R. Radev), last updated: 31-Jul-1995 MAGDALENA MALEEVA Birthdate April 1, 1975 Birthplace Sofia, Bulgaria Residence Sofia, Bulgaria Height 5'6" (1.68m) Weight 109 lbs. (49kg) Plays Righthanded Turned Pro 1989 Coach Youlia Berberian WTA Tour Singles Rank 7 1995 Review Singles Record 19-8 Singles Titles 1 Prize Money $283,248 Career Highlights Singles Titles 4 Doubles Titles 1 Prize Money $1,228,452 1994 Best Results Winner Chicago Finalist Hilton Head, Berlin Semifinalist Tokyo, Amelia Island, Hamburg Grand Slam History - Singles Career Record 95 94 93 92 91 90 Australian 9-5 1st 4th4th 1st 4th - French Open 8-6 2nd 1st4th 3rd 1st 3rd U.S. Open 11-5 - 4th4th QF 2nd 1st Wimbledon 4-5 - 2nd3rd 1st 1st 2nd Year-End Ranks 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 211 72 38 20 16 11 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20-12 Top Chess Players from Bulgaria (by Dragomir R. Radev), last updated: 09-Jan-1997 MEN 1 Kasparov, Gary....................g RUS 2795 11 13.04.63 2 Anand, Viswanathan................g IND 2765 9 11.12.69 3 Karpov, Anatoly...................g RUS 2760 52 23.05.51 4 Kramnik, Vladimir.................g RUS 2740 41 25.06.75 5 Ivanchuk, Vassily.................g UKR 2740 32 18.03.69 *** 6 Topalov, Veselin..................g BUL 2725 44 15.03.75 7 Kamsky, Gata......................g USA 2720 29 02.06.74 8 Gelfand, Boris....................g BLR 2700 52 24.06.68 9 Shirov, Alexei....................g ESP 2690 49 04.07.72 10 Short, Nigel D....................g ENG 2690 22 01.06.65 ... *** 27 Georgiev, Kiril...................g BUL 2645 24 28.11.65 ... *** 85 Spasov, Vasil.....................g BUL 2585 46 17.02.71 WOMEN 1 Polgar, Judit (GM)................g HUN 2645 58 23.07.76 2 Polgar, Zsuzsa (GM)...............g HUN 2565 0 19.04.69 3 Cramling, Pia (GM)................g SWE 2545 37 23.04.63 4 Chiburdanidze, Maia (GM)..........g GEO 2535 36 17.01.61 5 Ioseliani, Nana (IM)..............g GEO 2510 39 12.02.62 6 Xie, Jun (GM).....................g CHN 2500 20 30.10.70 7 Zhu, Chen.........................g CHN 2495 34 16.03.76 8 Arakhamia, Ketevan (IM)...........g GEO 2490 21 19.07.68 9 Matveeva, Svetlana................g RUS 2475 26 04.07.69 10 Polgar, Sofia (IM)................g HUN 2470 45 02.11.74 ... *** 18 Stefanova, Antoaneta..............g BUL 2410 43 19.04.79 Antoaneta Stefanova is ranked third in the world in the girls (younger than 20 years) ranking. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20-13 Futbolisti na godinata, 1995 (by Dragomir R. Radev), last updated: 18-Jan-1996 (This entry is in Bulgarian) Krasimir Balqkov e roden na 29.03.1966 godina vqv Veliko Tqrnovo. Igral e v Etqr, Sporting (Lisabon) i Shtutgart. Krayno klasirane za 1995. 1. Krasimir Balqkov, Sporting, Stuttgart 570 2. Hristo Stoichkov, Barcelona, Parma 415 3. Emil Kostadinov, Bayern 262 4. Yordan Lechkov, Hamburger 198 5. Trifon Ivanov, Xamax, Rapid Vienna 140 6. Borislav Mihaylov, Botev Plovdiv, Redding 61 7. Zlatko Yankov, Levski, Jurdingen 54 8. Plamen Nikolov, Levski 38 9. Luboslav Penev, Valencia, Atletico Madrid 36 10. Emil Kremenliev, Levski, Olympiakos 29 Sledvat: Petar Hubchev (Hamburger), Marian Hristov (Slaviya, Levski), Vlado Shalamanov (Slaviya, Altay), Tsanko Tsvetanov (Levski, Waldhof), Iliyan Iliev (Levski, Benfica), Daniel Borimirov (Levski, Muenchen 1860), Radostin Kishishev (Neftohimik), Diyan Petkov (Loko Sf), Simeon Chilibonov (Slaviya, Loko Sf), Kostadin Vidolov (Botev), Ivo Georgiev (Korabostroitel, Spartak Vn), Petar Aleksandrov (Xamax, Lucerne), Valqntin Dartilov (Levski, Kaiserispor) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20-14 Futbolisti na godinata - 1961-1995 (by Dragomir R. Radev), last updated: 18-Jan-1996 (This entry is in Bulgarian) 1961 Georgi Naydenov (CSKA) 1962 Ivan Kolev (CSKA) 1963 Aleksandar Shalamanov (Slaviya) 1964 Nikola Kotkov (Loko Sf) 1965 Georgi Asparuhov (Levski) 1966 Aleksandar Shalamanov (Slaviya) 1967 Dimitar Penev (CSKA) 1968 Simeon Simeonov (Slaviya) 1969 Hristo Bonev (Loko Pd) 1970 Stefan Aladjov (Levski) 1971 Dimitar Penev (CSKA) 1972 Hristo Bonev (Loko Pd) 1973 Hristo Bonev (Loko Pd) 1974 Kiril Ivkov (Levski) 1975 Kiril Ivkov (Levski) 1976 Bojidar Grigorov (Slaviya) 1977 Pavel Panov (Levski) 1978 Rumen Goranov (Loko Sf) 1979 Atanas Mihaylov (Loko Sf) 1980 Andrey Jelyazkov (Slaviya) 1981 Georgi Velinov (CSKA) 1982 Radoslav Zdravkov (CSKA) 1983 Stoycho Mladenov (CSKA) 1984 Plamen Nikolov (Levski) 1985 Georgi Dimitrov (CSKA) 1986 Borislav Mihaylov (Levski) 1987 Nikolay Iliev (Levski) 1988 Luboslav Penev (CSKA) 1989 Hristo Stoichkov (CSKA) 1990 Hristo Stoichkov (CSKA, Barcelona) 1991 Hristo Stoichkov (Barcelona) 1992 Hristo Stoichkov (Barcelona) 1993 Emil Kostadinov (Porto) 1994 Hristo Stoichkov (Barcelona) 1995 Krasimir Balakov (Sporting, Stuttgart) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 20-15 The Soccer Champions of Bulgaria (by Yulian Dontchev), last updated: 03-Jan-1997 1924 - 1925 Vladislav (Varna) 1926 Vladislav (Varna) 1927 - 1928 Slavia (Sofia) 1929 Botev (Plovdiv) 1930 Slavia (Sofia) 1931 AC 23 (Sofia) 1932 Shipchenski sokol (Varna) 1933 Levski (Sofia) 1934 Vladislav (Varna) 1935 Sportclub (Sofia) 1936 Slavia (Sofia) 1937 Levski (Sofia) 1937-1938 Ticha (Varna) 1938-1939 Slavia (Sofia) 1939-1940 ZhSK (Sofia) 1941 Slavia (Sofia) 1942 Levski (Sofia) 1943 Slavia (Sofia) 1944 - 1945 Lokomotiv (Sofia) 1946 Levski (Sofia) 1947 Levski (Sofia) 1948 Septemvri pri CDNV (Sofia) 1948-1949 Levski (Sofia) 1950 Levski (Sofia) 1951 CDNA (Sofia) 1952 CDNA (Sofia) 1953 Levski (Sofia) 1954 CDNA (Sofia) 1955 CDNA (Sofia) 1956 CDNA (Sofia) 1957 CDNA (Sofia) 1958 CDNA (Sofia) 1958-1959 CDNA (Sofia) 1959-1960 CDNA (Sofia) 1960-1961 CDNA (Sofia) 1961-1962 CDNA (Sofia) 1962-1963 Spartak (Plovdiv) 1963-1964 Lokomotiv (Sofia) 1964-1965 Levski (Sofia) 1965-1966 CSKA Cherveno zname (Sofia) 1966-1967 Botev (Plovdiv) 1967-1968 Levski (Sofia) 1968-1969 CSKA Septemvrijsko zname (Sofia) 1969-1970 Levski-Spartak (Sofia) 1970-1971 CSKA Septemvrijsko zname (Sofia) 1971-1972 CSKA Septemvrijsko zname (Sofia) 1972-1973 CSKA Septemvrijsko zname (Sofia) 1973-1974 Levski-Spartak (Sofia) 1974-1975 CSKA Septemvrijsko zname (Sofia) 1975-1976 CSKA Septemvrijsko zname (Sofia) 1976-1977 Levski-Spartak (Sofia) 1977-1978 Lokomotiv (Sofia) 1978-1979 Levski-Spartak (Sofia) 1979-1980 CSKA Septemvrijsko zname (Sofia) 1980-1981 CSKA Septemvrijsko zname (Sofia) 1981-1982 CSKA Septemvrijsko zname (Sofia) 1982-1983 CSKA Septemvrijsko zname (Sofia) 1983-1984 Levski-Spartak (Sofia) 1984-1985 ? 1985-1986 Beroe (Stara Zagora) 1986-1987 CFKA Sredets (Sofia) 1987-1988 FC Vitosha (Sofia) 1988-1989 CSKA (Sofia) 1989-1990 CSKA (Sofia) 1990-1991 Etar (Veliko Tarnovo) 1991-1992 CSKA (Sofia) 1992-1993 Levski (Sofia) 1993-1994 Levski (Sofia) 1994-1995 Levski (Sofia) 1995-1996 Slaviya (Sofia) -- Drago -- Drago