A national commemorative assembly marking the 150th anniversary of the April Uprising convened at the Prof. Marin Drinov Hall of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (BAS) on Monday. The event was held under the patronage of President Iliana Iotova.
Prior to the main ceremony at the BAS building, Bulgarian Patriarch and Metropolitan of Sofia Daniil led a memorial service for the victims, including priests and laypeople, at Sofia’s St Alexander Nevsky Memorial Cathedral. Attendees included the head of state, caretaker Prime Minister Andrey Gurov, BAS President Evelina Slavcheva, Director General of Bulgarian National Radio Milen Mitev, various political party representatives, academics, and public figures. BAS President Evelina Slavcheva opened the commemorative assembly, asserting that the April Uprising of 1876 was the defining start of the Bulgarian national revolution and must be recognized as such in global historiography.
Slavcheva stressed the Academy’s duty, as Bulgaria’s oldest modern institution, to preserve national memory. President Iotova stated that the uprising infused the National Revival with the light of statehood, will, and desired self-sacrifice, rather than mere despair. She added that the “rebellious spirit” of the cause, which perpetually seeks freedom and justice, remains alive today.
Iotova noted the BAS’s role in hosting the event because rebellion and awakening originate from knowledge. Patriarch Daniil highlighted that the uprising yielded not only heroism and great deeds but also martyrdom for faith. He viewed the events of April 1876 as the climax of a spiritual and national revival process guided by the Orthodox Church.
Sofia University Rector Georgi Valchev thanked local authorities, the school system, and teachers for their involvement in the anniversary celebrations, acknowledging the media’s role, particularly public service broadcasters like the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA), which co-organized conferences in the four former capitals of the April Uprising districts.
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It is important for the nation to observe and commemorate such a significant historical anniversary.