Yesterday marked 146 years since the liberation of Bulgaria from the Ottoman rule which lasted for five centuries.
Just yesterday, in 1878, the peace treaty of Saint Stephen was signed between Russia and the Ottoman Empire, which ended the Russo-Turkish War (1877-1878), the Ottoman Empire admitted its defeat and the foundations of the Third Bulgarian Empire were laid States.
Bulgaria is established as an autonomous state, which is subordinate to the Ottoman Empire and includes almost all the territories of the European part of the empire, which are inhabited by Bulgarians. The total area of Bulgaria exceeds 170 thousand square kilometers.
Bulgaria acquires a number of rights, including the application for recognition by countries that have not signed the Treaty of St. Stephen, the right to establish international trade relations, the right to own the police. The Treaty of Agios Stefanos gives Bulgaria the ideal of national unity.
The date of its signing has been announced for decades as a public holiday. In 1990, by decision of the Council of State and the Parliament, March 3 was declared a national holiday.
On this occasion, the Bulgarian school of Famagusta, in collaboration with the Bulgarian-speaking parish of the Metropolis and other organizations, performed yesterday a solemn eulogy by the head of His Holiness the Metropolitan of Constantia and Famagusta, Mr. Vassiliou, at the Metropolitan church of Agios Georgios in Paralimni.
The ambassador of Bulgaria in Cyprus, the mayors of Paralimni and Deryneia, local bodies and the members of the Bulgarian community of Paralimni were present.
A celebratory event followed in the spiritual center of the Metropolitan Church.
See pictures:
*With information from the Holy Metropolis of Constantia and Famagusta