Dimitrovgrad, Serbia, May 24, 2021
Photo: haskovo.press
A new monument to Sts. Cyril and Methodius, the Teachers and Enlighteners of the Slavs, was unveiled in a town in southeastern Serbia on Sunday by the presidents of two Slavic countries.
The opening ceremony was attended by President Aleksandar Vučić of Serbia and President Rumen Radev of Bulgaria and a number of local residents from Dimitrovgrad. The national anthems of both Serbia and Bulgari were performed by the orchestra of the Serbian Army Guard, reports Pravoslavie.ru.
The monument stands in the yard of the Sts. Cyril and Methodius School in the town on the border with Bulgaria, where the majority of the population is ethnic Bulgarians. The foundation stone for the monument was also laid by both presidents on June 22, 2018.
The Bulgarian president noted the importance of the new statue. “The monument will spiritually connect the nations, this monument to the holy brothers thanks to whom we share today the same spiritual space and write in the same alphabet. That is symbolic, it is important, for it shows not just our historic closeness, but outlines the shared path of our ambitions,” President Radev said.
May 24 is the feast of Sts. Cyril and Methodius on the Old Calendar, internationally celebrated as the Day of Slavic Writing and Culture, in honor of the saintly missionary brothers.
In turn, the Serbian president stressed that the Serbs consider the Bulgarians a fraternal people.
After the monument as unveiled, the presidents toured the renovated school buildings and then visited the Poganovo Monastery.
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