Bulgarian Patriarch Daniil consecrated today the recently restored church “St. Nicholas the Wonderworker” in Dupnitsa, on the occasion of the 180th anniversary of the construction of the church, BTA reported.
The church is the oldest in the city, local residents said. It was demolished and rebuilt several times. The restored church was opened in April last year.
The temple is an architectural-building and artistic cultural monument, founded at the beginning of the 17th century. In the middle of the last century, it was turned into a “cemetery”, and in the 1980s only funeral services were held there.
Last year, with the help of donors, the temple was renovated and services, weddings and baptisms began to take place in it. The main credit for this goes to Julian Manov from Dupnitsa.
“I think we did the right thing. The temple was desecrated, almost destroyed. It is the oldest temple, in the center of the city. The renovation was something that had to be done. I decided that when no one else was doing it, I have to do it,” said Manov.
Patriarch Daniil congratulated the people of Dupnica on the holiday, wished them to continue to put their faith in God first, because with it they can achieve anything.
“If we allow desolation in our attitude to the sanctuary, we must know that there is also such desolation in our souls,” said Patriarch Daniel. He added that when we have Christ’s peace and tranquility in our souls, giving to God and doing good, our hearts and souls will become like this temple, and we will feel good, as well as the people around us.
A special greeting was also sounded by the Dupnish men’s choir “St. Ivan Rilski”.