Saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
Enravota ( bg, Свети Енравота) or Voin (Воин, "warrior") or
Boyan (Боян) was the eldest son of
Omurtag of Bulgaria and the first
Bulgarian
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
martyr, as well as the earliest Bulgarian saint to be
canonized.
Born in the early 9th century, Enravota was the elder brother of
Malamir of Bulgaria, who succeeded their father Omurtag to the Bulgarian throne in 831. Enravota was possibly deprived of the throne because he favoured Christianity, which the
boyars feared might endanger the court. Not long after the death of Omurtag, Enravota asked his brother to release a pious
Byzantine captive who had been imprisoned by Omurtag. The captive's sermons persuaded Enravota to convert to Christianity and be
baptized
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...
.
Once informed of his brother's deeds, Malamir attempted to make him renounce Christianity, but did not succeed. Enravota was killed on the order of Malamir, around 833. 11th-century chronicler
Theophylact of Bulgaria claimed he delivered the following prophetic speech before his death:
In the
Bulgarian Orthodox Church
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church ( bg, Българска православна църква, translit=Balgarska pravoslavna tsarkva), legally the Patriarchate of Bulgaria ( bg, Българска патриаршия, links=no, translit=Balgarsk ...
, Enravota's
feast day
The calendar of saints is the traditional Christian method of organizing a liturgical year by associating each day with one or more saints and referring to the day as the feast day or feast of said saint. The word "feast" in this context d ...
is 28 March.
Honours
Enravota Glacier on
Nordenskjöld Coast in
Graham Land,
Antarctica is named after St. Enravota.
References
*
*
{{authority control
9th-century births
9th-century Bulgarian people
830s deaths
Bulgarian princes
9th-century Christian saints
9th-century Christian martyrs
Medieval Bulgarian saints