MARTYRS OF BULGARIA - 23 JULY

 

ALL SAINTS CELEBRATED IN JULY

Saints celebrated on the 23rd of July

Prayer to the Angels and the Saints

Heavenly Father, in praising Your Angels and Saints we praise Your glory, for by honouring them we honour You, their Creator. Their splendour shows us Your greatness, which infinitely surpasses that of all creation.

In Your loving providence, You saw fit to send Your Angels to watch over us. Grant that we may always be under their protection and one day enjoy their company in heaven.

Heavenly Father, You are glorified in Your Saints, for their glory is the crowning of Your gifts. You provide an example for us by their lives on earth, You give us their friendship by our communion with them, You grant us strength and protection through their prayer for the Church, and You spur us on to victory over evil and the prize of eternal glory by this great company of witnesses.

Grant that we who aspire to take part in their joy may be filled with the Spirit that blessed their lives, so that, after sharing their faith on earth, we may also experience their peace in heaven. Amen.

THE MARTYRS OF BULGARIA 

The Bulgarian state was founded in the Balkans in 680 by the proto-Bulgarians, a militant Turkic tribe. However, the country was mainly populated by local Slavic tribes that had established themselves much earlier in the region. 

THE CHRISTIAN POPULATION

To a large extent these tribes were already Christians. This Christian population was further increased when the great Bulgarian Khan Krum the Terrible (802-14) captured many Byzantine Christians and brought them back with him as slaves.

THEY ARE CONSIDERED MARTYRS

During the war between Khan Krum and his Bulgarians, who were not yet Christians, and the Greek Emperor Nikephoros I (802-11), many Christians were killed for their faith, in addition to those who fell in battle. There is much uncertainty about the exact circumstances, but they have always been considered martyrs. Their memorial day is July 23.

(Source: Fr Per Einar Odden -

http://www.katolsk.no/biografier/historisk/martbulg)

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THE MARTYRS' ENTRY IN THE ROMAN MARTYROLOGY

In Bulgaria, many holy martyrs whom the impious emperor Nicephorus, whilst he was devastating the churches of God, put to death in various ways: by the sword, the halter, arrows, long imprisonment, and starvation.