The Monastery of Saint Athanasius ( bg, манастир „Свети Атанасий“) is a

Bulgarian Orthodox The Bulgarian Orthodox Church ( bg, Българска православна църква, translit=Balgarska pravoslavna tsarkva), legally the Patriarchate of Bulgaria ( bg, Българска патриаршия, links=no, translit=Balgarsk ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

located close to the village of Zlatna Livada in Chirpan municipality, Stara Zagora Province. The

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

's day of the church is 2 May, when several thousand people gather. According to Bulgarian archaeological and historical research from 2004, it is the oldest active monastery in

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. An expedition led by doctor and academician Rosen Milev was carried out on 18 January 2004, affirming that the monastery was founded by

Athanasius of Alexandria Athanasius I of Alexandria, ; cop, ⲡⲓⲁⲅⲓⲟⲥ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲡⲓⲁⲡⲟⲥⲧⲟⲗⲓⲕⲟⲥ or Ⲡⲁⲡⲁ ⲁⲑⲁⲛⲁⲥⲓⲟⲩ ⲁ̅; (c. 296–298 – 2 May 373), also called Athanasius the Great, ...

in 344 while returning from the

Council of Serdica The Council of Serdica, or Synod of Serdica (also Sardica located in modern day Sofia, Bulgaria), was a synod convened in 343 at Serdica in the civil diocese of Dacia, by Emperors Constans I, augustus in the West, and Constantius II, augustus in ...

in present-day

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

. On the way back he stopped and slept in a Roman fortress, the remains of which are located close to today's monastery, deciding to found a monastery due to the strong influence of the

Arians Arianism ( grc-x-koine, Ἀρειανισμός, ) is a Christological doctrine first attributed to Arius (), a Christian presbyter from Alexandria, Egypt. Arian theology holds that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, who was begotten by God t ...

(see

Ulfilas Ulfilas (–383), also spelled Ulphilas and Orphila, all Latinisation of names, Latinized forms of the unattested Gothic language, Gothic form *𐍅𐌿𐌻𐍆𐌹𐌻𐌰 Wulfila, literally "Little Wolf", was a Goths, Goth of Cappadocian Ancie ...

), whom he considered heretical, on the

Goths The Goths ( got, 𐌲𐌿𐍄𐌸𐌹𐌿𐌳𐌰, translit=''Gutþiuda''; la, Gothi, grc-gre, Γότθοι, Gótthoi) were a Germanic people who played a major role in the fall of the Western Roman Empire and the emergence of medieval Europe ...

living in the region of ''Beroe'' (modern Stara Zagora). After his death in 373, the monastery was named after him. This is regarded to be proven by the passional of Saint Athanasius and the annals of the

Patriarchate of Alexandria The Patriarch of Alexandria is the archbishop of Alexandria, Egypt. Historically, this office has included the designation "pope" (etymologically "Father", like "Abbot"). The Alexandrian episcopate was revered as one of the three major episco ...

, as well as further research in the

Vatican Secret Archives , seal = Seal of the Vatican Secret Archives.svg , seal_width = 200 , seal_caption = Former seal of the Vatican Apostolic Archive , logo = , formed = , jurisdiction = , headquarters = Cortile del Belvedere, Vatican City , coordinates ...

. The existence of the monastery during the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

is evidenced by archaeological material. It was also visited by Bulgarian revolutionary

Vasil Levski Vasil Levski ( bg, Васил Левски, spelled in old Bulgarian orthography as , ), born Vasil Ivanov Kunchev (; 18 July 1837 – 18 February 1873), was a Bulgarian revolutionary who is, today, a national hero of Bulgaria. Dubbed t ...

during his trips throughout the country in the late 19th century. The present buildings of the Monastery of Saint Athanasius were constructed in the 1980s after an idea by

Lyudmila Zhivkova Lyudmila Todorova Zhivkova ( bg, Людмила Тодорова Живкова; 26 July 1942 – 21 July 1981) was a senior Bulgarian Communist Party functionary and Politburo member. She was the daughter of Bulgarian Communist leader Todor Zh ...

. The

Patriarch of Alexandria The Patriarch of Alexandria is the archbishop of Alexandria, Egypt. Historically, this office has included the designation "pope" (etymologically "Father", like "Abbot"). The Alexandrian episcopate was revered as one of the three major episco ...

, Peter VII, visited the monastery in 2003.

References

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Bibliography

* Shopova, Elena.
The monastery of Zlatna livada — the oldest in Europe
'. Liternet.bg. Visited 1 May 2006. *
The oldest monastery in Europe is located in Bulgaria
', 12 April 2004. Netinfo.bg. Visited 1 May 2006. Christian monasteries in Bulgaria Bulgarian Orthodox monasteries 344 establishments Buildings and structures in Stara Zagora Province Christian monasteries established in the 4th century