Orthodox Center
Orthodox Center in Veliko Tarnovo
The construction of the center at the St. Nikolai Church started according to the design of architects from Veliko Tarnovo and with the approval of the local administration. In the autumn of 2000 this project obtained the financial support of the Future for Bulgaria Foundation, which enabled the beginning of the construction works. The purpose of this center is to be an appropriate venue for a Sunday Orthodox School organizing iconography courses. The Sunday school in the temple was opened in March 1995 with 12 children from three schools in the town. In the next year, the number of children increased to 26, and in the middle of 2001 the school hosted 65 children from 12 schools. The age of the students is between 6 and 18 years, distributed in three groups. The civil initiative for the construction of the school received the financial support of many donors – private persons, companies and enterprises in the region. The center was completed and dedicated on the 6 December 2005 – the day of St. Nikolay and the church’s holiday. The Future for Bulgaria Foundation also granted funds for the purchasing of religious textbooks and the organization of a summer camp in the monastery “Sveti Arhangel Mihail” in Dryanovo for 45 children from the Sunday school at the St. Nikolay temple. On the occasion of the national holiday of Bulgaria, the 3-rd March 2001, a group of children from the Orthodox Center visited the Czech Republic on the invitation of the Bulgarian Embassy. The children organized an exhibition of their icons and sang Bulgarian chants for the diplomats and the guests at the reception. They also had a meeting with the students from the Bulgarian school in Prague.