Welcome to Bulgaria, which is a country with millennium-long history, Christian traditions and culture. Remnants of several great civilizations have been discovered here, leaving behind rich cultural and religious heritage. It is a land of compelling discoveries about the origin of human civilization and culture, diverse religious cults and practices, established here thousands of years before Christ. It was the first Slavic country to accept Christianity in 865, as well as the first Christian country in Europe in which the language of liturgy was that of the people – Old Bulgarian. Holy Scripture and the liturgy were translated back in the 9th century. It was then that the Christian world recognized Old Bulgarian as an official liturgical language alongside Greek and Latin. In the 9th century the holy brothers Cyril and Methodius devised the Glagolitic (Old Bulgarian) alphabet, which opened up a new cultural era in Europe. The Glagolitic alphabet was recognized as the official alphabet and Old Bulgarian became the language of the Church, books and the people. In the following centuries Old Bulgarian culture spread throughout southwestern Europe and Kievan Rus’. Its churches and monasteries are century-old guardians of the Christian faith, exquisite examples of Medieval and Revivalist church art, important centres of literature, and true pillars of spiritual education and culture.
