Presentation of the book “Icons from the National Church Museum of History and Archaeology”, an edition of the Institute of Art Studies
The book “Icons from the National Church Museum of History and Archaeology” was officially presented on March 11, 2025. The Chairman of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Corr. Member Evelina Slavcheva, Their Eminences, Metropolitan of Veliko Tarnovo Grigoriy, Metropolitan of Nevrokop Seraphim and Bishop of Melnik Gerasim – Chief Secretary of St. Synod, the Vice-Chairman of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Prof. Shteliyan Shterionov, Assoc. Prof. Plamen Slavov – Advisor on Culture to the President of the Republic of Bulgaria, members of the Assembly of Academicians and Corresponding Members of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, representatives of academics, artists, and intellectuals were present in the crowded solemn “Prof. Marin Drinov” Hall at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences. The host of the presentation was Acad. Ivan Granitski.
The Chairman of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Corr. Member Evelina Slavcheva opened the event and congratulated the team members who created “a truly unique edition, both in its content and form and significance”. She expressed her admiration and gratitude to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and its Holy Synod “for opening its archives and museums to the work of scientists”, which is “a remarkable cooperation” with an impressive result and with the prospect of development in the future “for the sake of the spiritual health and well-being of our people”. Metropolitan Seraphim of
Nevrokop extended good wishes to the team on behalf of His Holiness the Bulgarian Patriarch Daniel and noted that the publication is of great benefit “for all those who have an interest and are working in the field of iconography, but also in the field of restoration” and for all those who “would like to support the preservation” of the sanctuaries of our Church with their capabilities and efforts, “who require a more reverent attitude and care”. He ended by wishing the team many more future scientific studies of our rich church artistic heritage.
The team members’ individual contributions to the project implementation were briefed by Assoc. Prof. Ivan Vanev, its supervisor. He thanked all colleagues who directly assisted the author’s team of scientists from the Institute of Art Studies – BAS. Assoc. Prof. Vanev expressed hope that the fruitful cooperation between St. Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the scientists from the Institute will continue in the future. Speeches in connection with the project and the edition were also made by Assoc. Ivan Rashkov, director of the National Church Museum of History and Archaeology (NCMHA), who briefly presented the history of the museum and its leaders, and Natalia Nedelcheva from the NCMHA, who also thanked the contributors to the project. The President of the National Assembly, Assoc. Prof. Natalia Kiselova, also delivered a greeting.
The solemn part ended with a presentation of the publication by Prof. Georgi Nikolov from the Department of History of Bulgaria at the Faculty of History of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”. He highlighted the team’s contribution to enriching the biography of the prominent scholar Archpriest Ivan Goshev with new, valuable information based on archival materials. Prof. Nikolov traced the structure of the volume, emphasising its scientific importance, its interdisciplinary nature and new approaches, pointing out that “such monumental catalogues are made every 20-30 years once and leave a mark for decades to come” and “in this sense, the book sets one of the pillars of scientific achievements in the Bulgarian humanities in the 21st century”.
We recall that the publication is the result of the research work of a large team of specialists (Alexander Kuyumdzhiev, Vesselina Yoncheva, Darina Boykina, Ivan Vanev, Ivan Rashkov, Ivanka Gergova, Maya Zaharieva, Margarita Kuyumdzhieva, Mariela Stoykova, Maria Kolusheva, Natalia Nedelcheva, Ralitsa Ruseva, Teresa Bacheva, Tsveta Kuneva, Tsvetan Vassilev), implemented with the financial support of the Scientific Research Fund of the Ministry of Education and Science. The project was implemented in cooperation with the National Church Historical and Archaeological Museum at the Holy Synod, and the edition is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the museum and the activity of its founder and long-time director, Archpriest Ivan Goshev. In his memory, the team and the Institute donated a significant part of the circulation printed with the funds provided for the project to the museum, hoping this would contribute to the development and better future of this remarkable cultural and spiritual institution.
The Chairman of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Corr. Member Evelina Slavcheva opened the event and congratulated the team members who created “a truly unique edition, both in its content and form and significance”. She expressed her admiration and gratitude to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and its Holy Synod “for opening its archives and museums to the work of scientists”, which is “a remarkable cooperation” with an impressive result and with the prospect of development in the future “for the sake of the spiritual health and well-being of our people”. Metropolitan Seraphim of
Nevrokop extended good wishes to the team on behalf of His Holiness the Bulgarian Patriarch Daniel and noted that the publication is of great benefit “for all those who have an interest and are working in the field of iconography, but also in the field of restoration” and for all those who “would like to support the preservation” of the sanctuaries of our Church with their capabilities and efforts, “who require a more reverent attitude and care”. He ended by wishing the team many more future scientific studies of our rich church artistic heritage.
The team members’ individual contributions to the project implementation were briefed by Assoc. Prof. Ivan Vanev, its supervisor. He thanked all colleagues who directly assisted the author’s team of scientists from the Institute of Art Studies – BAS. Assoc. Prof. Vanev expressed hope that the fruitful cooperation between St. Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the scientists from the Institute will continue in the future. Speeches in connection with the project and the edition were also made by Assoc. Ivan Rashkov, director of the National Church Museum of History and Archaeology (NCMHA), who briefly presented the history of the museum and its leaders, and Natalia Nedelcheva from the NCMHA, who also thanked the contributors to the project. The President of the National Assembly, Assoc. Prof. Natalia Kiselova, also delivered a greeting.
The solemn part ended with a presentation of the publication by Prof. Georgi Nikolov from the Department of History of Bulgaria at the Faculty of History of Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”. He highlighted the team’s contribution to enriching the biography of the prominent scholar Archpriest Ivan Goshev with new, valuable information based on archival materials. Prof. Nikolov traced the structure of the volume, emphasising its scientific importance, its interdisciplinary nature and new approaches, pointing out that “such monumental catalogues are made every 20-30 years once and leave a mark for decades to come” and “in this sense, the book sets one of the pillars of scientific achievements in the Bulgarian humanities in the 21st century”.
We recall that the publication is the result of the research work of a large team of specialists (Alexander Kuyumdzhiev, Vesselina Yoncheva, Darina Boykina, Ivan Vanev, Ivan Rashkov, Ivanka Gergova, Maya Zaharieva, Margarita Kuyumdzhieva, Mariela Stoykova, Maria Kolusheva, Natalia Nedelcheva, Ralitsa Ruseva, Teresa Bacheva, Tsveta Kuneva, Tsvetan Vassilev), implemented with the financial support of the Scientific Research Fund of the Ministry of Education and Science. The project was implemented in cooperation with the National Church Historical and Archaeological Museum at the Holy Synod, and the edition is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the museum and the activity of its founder and long-time director, Archpriest Ivan Goshev. In his memory, the team and the Institute donated a significant part of the circulation printed with the funds provided for the project to the museum, hoping this would contribute to the development and better future of this remarkable cultural and spiritual institution.
Photo credit: Julia Staneva ©
