Monastery of Saint Ivan of Rila

The Rila Monastery is stauropegial – in the Orthodox world subordinated directly to the Primate of the Church – the Patriarch or the Synod rather than to the local bishop. During the 12th – 14th centuries, its fame was great attracting many worshippers. The Bulgarian kings paid special tribute to it donating lands, villages together with the villagers and other riches. The Monastery became one of the richest institutions of Medieval Bulgaria. The original of the donation deed of Tsar Ivan Shishman (┼ 1395) has been preserved. After 1396 and the establishment of the Ottoman domination in Bulgaria, the Rila Monastery was repeatedly attacked, destroyed and burned, only to be reborn anew each time. Today, the Rila Monastery is a fortress protected by a stone wall, 24 meters high, with one gate each to the east and west. It surrounds an irregular pentagonal courtyard. From its inner side 4 or 5 rows of terraces with the monastery cells (for about 300 monks) are arranged, 4 chapels, a library, a kitchen and economic rooms. The total area is 8.800 sq. m, and the built-up area is 5.500 sq. m.

In the middle of the courtyard the Hrelyo’s Tower and the Catholicon dedicated to the Nativity of the Virgin Mary are located. The present cathedral church was built in 1834-1837 over the foundations of the Medieval church from the 14th century. It belongs to the Athos type – a domed basilica with 5 domes of cruciform arrangement. From the north and south, 2 chapels with apses were added, dedicated to St. Nicholas of Mirliki and to St. Ivan of Rila. To the right of the royal doors of the altar, the relics of the Saint are kept in a traditionally painted wooden coffin. The church has no narthex. It is surrounded on the south, west and north by a single-storey covered arcade gallery.

The fresco decoration inside and outside was completed in 1846. The frescoes, as well as the carved iconostasis covered with golden foil, are the work of the Samokov Art School. Among the most prominent artists are Dimitar Zograf, Zahari Zograf and Stanislav Dospevski. Masterpieces are also left by representatives of the Art School in Bansko. The wall paintings of the Orthodox churches come to be a bright peculiarity of the Eastern Christian world. In Rila Monastery they present in detail the philosophical and moral concepts of the community. In essence they contain and express in symbols and colours the nature of the Eastern Orthodox – the history and structure of the Universe, models of behaviour, the choices the Orthodox Christian has the right to make, and finally the price they have to pay for their choices. Murals are a catechism expressed in magnificent pictures.

Following the tradition, Zachary Zograf has also added some ethnographical elements. One of them is the scene with the medical woman – witch, rejected by the church but celebrated by the devils. In Bulgarian the word for witch derives from the verb to know – it is veshtitsa meaning she who knows. She is a very significant figure in the traditional community living at the margin between the culture and the nature, as all are afraid of her but inevitably seek her help at a certain moment of their life. Thus she knows all the peoples’ secrets and the way to solve the hardship. A figure stubbornly preserved almost to this day in the traditional culture.

The Rila Monastery is male, active. The memory of St. Ivan Rilski is celebrated on October 18.

The monastery library is extremely rich, containing manuscripts, old printed books and documents from the 14th – 19th centuries. It is also active, but it can be only entered after the express permission of the Monastery administration.

Today, several museums are located on the territory of the Monastery. The Church – Historical Museum preserves artefacts and icons from the Middle Ages and more recent times, which reflect the wide connections that the Monastery kept with Moscow monasteries and others of the Orthodox world. An Ethnographic Exhibition is also open, which includes the kitchen with its remarkable chimney, an unusual engineering creation.  A separate icon exhibition contains outstanding works of the icon painting in Bulgaria. One of the richest collections of women’s jewelry is also owned by the Rila Monastery – for in the past the jewels were the only personal possession of women and they often donated them in the hope of divine help.

KATYA MELAMED