Holiday in Bulgaria 4/6- Rila Monastery

 

Join a day trip to visit two UNESCO religious sites, Boyana church and Rila Monastery.

Boyana Church is in the outskirts of Sofia, the oldest part is from the 10C, then extended in 13C and 19C. Very simple Orthodox Church structure, domes on top of high ceiling square rooms. It is famous for having original full wall covered frescoes painted in the 13C. No alterations/touching up in later year, only preserving the condition.

It is a small church and the allocated visiting time per group of 8 people is 8 minutes. Fine, just enough to see and have a feel of the atmosphere.

Then 2 hours drive to Rila Monastery in the south through farms, wild fields, and mountains.

Rila Monastery is a huge complex, landlord of of the land around and doesn’t need to pay tax to the government. It survived the Ottoman occupation because of being in a far away remote area.

An Orthodox Church founded by Monk Rila, originally in a nearby cave. First construction started in the 10C by rich donors, now only a defense square tower left from that period. Later addition of the church in the 14th C and the monastery complex surrounding the church was erracted in the 19th C. The buildings had seen fires, attacks and had undergone many rebuilding and renovations.

The paintings on the outside and inside walls of the church are very brightly coloured and with lots of gold ornaments showing off the wealth of this monastery. It is unlike all the other religious monuments I have visited so far.

The horizontal red and black bars are painted to make the buildings look like being built of bricks.

For me the most important part is the kitchen, huge dome bread oven, huge cauldrons and ladles to cook for the 700 monks and guests at the peak in the centuries past.

One of the treasure is the cross made of boxwood being used in parades, with many small panels of tiny delicate carvings of scenes of people’s activities.

Back to Sofia, dinner at Restaurant Moma, well decorated house, ordered the first Banitza, filo pastry with lamb’s liver and spinach, and a baked lamb with rice cooked with lamb offals and herbs, both interesting.

保加利亞行 五
跟本地團參觀兩個UNESCO 宗教建築，一個在Sofia市郊、另一個在兩小時車程的南部。

在市郊的 Boyana Church，古雅樸素，傳統東正教計設，高身四方大堂內有圓拱屋頂，所有牆壁都塗滿宗教圖畫。得到UNESCO 標籤，因為壁畫全是十三世紀的作品，所用技巧，和往後在西歐文化復興時期相似。

更重要是，壁畫從未曾翻新潤飾，只是保護保養，讓後人看到真跡，我欣賞那簡單古老古樸的氣氛。

第二個點是全保加利亞最有名的宗教地方 Rila Monastery，走進大門，被那外圍四層高修道院、中央大教堂和方塔的規模和設計震懾。

因為修士僧人St Rila 八世紀時在附近山谷修行，到十世紀建教堂時以僧人名字命名。當中只有方塔是十世紀建築，其餘，因為火災天災人禍，經歷多翻重建增建維修，大多是十九世紀的建築，那些紅、黑橫紋，並非磚塊，只是油上顏色而已。

Rila Monastery 由富人捐錢建造，亦擁有附近大片土地，有租金收益而不用付稅，因為地方遍遠，Ottoman 帝國統治的五百多年，鞭長莫及，得以保留保加利亞文字文化，又編印書藉，教學傳授知識，而得到國民尊祟，宗教地位高上。

參觀那大教堂，裏外牆壁都滿是壁畫，全部顏色鮮艷新淨，堂內金光閃閃，裝飾豪華，十分矚目，令我想起梵蒂岡大教堂，亦有如此富裕外露的感覺。各角落枱面放有聖人畫像，信眾輪流瞻仰親吻，誠意動人。

全個修道院最得我心是那大廚房，有巨大拱頂麵包柴爐，大鍋大勺，可以想像全盛時期有七百多位僧人時，煮大鍋飯的真實情況，現今只餘下六位僧侶。