Funds for the first Bulgarian Orthodox church in Britain totaling £140,000 were raised during a London charity event.
Constructed on a portion of our embassy grounds, the new St. John of Rila Church will stand in the middle of London, not far from Kensington Palace and the Royal Albert Hall (approximately 100 meters away). Ambassador Marin Raykov, whose vision for this temple it is, recently advocated on behalf of the project before the Westminster town, and construction permission was granted.
On January 18, the charity dinner was held in the illustrious Belgravia Hall of the Lanesborough Hotel, one of London's most prominent establishments. His Eminence Metropolitan Anthony blessed it, and our envoy to the Kingdom Marin Raykov oversaw its organization; it was hosted by prominent members of the Bulgarian community in the UK. At the meal, Prince Cyril of Saxe-Coburg and Goth showed his ardent support for the proposal.
Young musicians and the world-renowned violinist Mila Georgieva performed at the meal. Georgieva played "Pirin" by Dobrinka Tabakova, the composer of the BBC Orchestra. Mila played a Stradivarius violin throughout her performance.
Metropolitan Antony of Western and Central Europe also offered tremendous support from the start, as BGNES would like to remind you. To fund the building of the church, the Bulgarian government set aside 1.5 million at the very end of the previous year. Our fellow citizens in the UK also contributed financially. Italian architect Carlo Bughi is currently working on the project.
Keeping the building's protected architectural style in mind was crucial to the project's approval; after all, the majority of the structures in this exclusive neighborhood share this trait. The Bulgarian community will have a beautiful and representative church, according to Marin Raikov, ambassador of the Republic of Bulgaria in Great Britain. However, the interior will undergo significant changes, reflecting the architect's imagination. The church will be medium-sized and feature a dome.
Ambassador Raykov is certain that the project, which was authorized by Westminster in a record-breaking four months, will serve as a point of pride for all Orthodox Bulgarians residing in the country. He anticipates that the church will be prepared in around fifteen months. One hundred thirty to one hundred fifty persons can fit inside. Our Orthodox community in the UK is the only one that has not had its church up until this point.BGNES is a
