Apriltsi, Bulgaria, May 13, 2026
Photo: bgnes.bg
A joyous spiritual event marked the commemoration of the holy Novosel Martyrs at the Holy Trinity Novosel Monastery in Apriltsi, Bulgaria on Saturday, May 9.
During the Divine Liturgy, a fresco of Sts. Clement and Naum of Ohrid began streaming myrrh, causing strong emotion among the believers present, according to the BGNES news agency.
Many interpreted it as a spiritual sign on the very day when the Bulgarian Orthodox Church honors the memory of the Novosel Martyrs—victims of one of the bloodiest massacres during the April Uprising, whose 150th anniversary is being marked in 2026.
Residents and visitors of Apriltsi gathered at the monastery to bow their heads in memory of those who died for Bulgaria’s freedom and to honor the martyrs, whose relics are preserved in the monastery church.
The monastery was the scene of a brutal massacre on May 9, 1876, when Ottoman forces stormed it and killed the priests, nuns, and laypeople who had taken refuge there. Among them were priests Nikola Barbulov and Georgi Dalgodreуski, nuns Susana Somleva, Sofia Pavkova, Elisaveta Zliyska, Efrosinia Moftieva, Christina, Kalista, and Katerina, as well as laywoman Susana Chorbadzhieva.
For their self-sacrifice and martyrdom, they were canonized by the Bulgarian Holy Synod on April 3, 2011, together with the victims of the Batak massacre.
“For the people present at the service, the myrrh-streaming was a deeply spiritual experience and symbol of living memory, faith, and hope. On the day of veneration of the martyrs, the miracle reminded of the power of prayer and of the unceasing spiritual connection between the past and the present,” BGNES writes.
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