Rila Monastery Nature Park Management Plan - part - usaid

February 2004
The St. Luke Hermitage Complex
The St. Luke Hermitage Complex consists of a structure of solid stone reinforcements
from the south and supporting walls of stone masonry from the west, north and south.
Standing in the southern single-nave, singe-apse church by the name of St. Luke the
Evangelist, built in 1799 in memory of a man by the same name, Luka, allegedly
nephew of St. John of Rila, who died on this spot from a snakebite, having voluntarily
joined his uncle in his hermitage. In the 19 th c., a small monastery school of five cells
was added to the church.
Perched atop the northern end of the compound is the single-nave Church of the
Shroud of Mary, erected in 1805. Both buildings are certified historical monuments,
both are the property of Rila Monastery.
The Pilgrim’s Road
Most of the length of the Pilgrim’s Road falls within the Park perimeter; this road,
which connects Rila Monastery with the nearby township of Rila, marks the last stage
of the historic procession, which transferred the remains of St. John from the ancient
capital of Tarnovo to Rila Monastery in 1469. The procession, described by Vladislav
the Grammarian in his Book of the Progress of the Remains of St. John from Tarnovo
to Rila Monastery, became a major event of national symbolic significance for the
then enslaved Bulgarians. The re-internment of the saint’s remains placed Rila
Monastery in the centre of national attention, triggering mass pilgrimage from all
corners of the land and contributing to the rapid prosperity of the Monastery. In
keeping with the ancient tradition of building houses of prayer along pilgrims’ routes,
a chapel bearing the name of the Holy Trinity stands by the side of the Pilgrims’
Road, south of Rila town.
The Pilgrim’s Road follows the natural terrain of the mountain pass entering the Park
from the direction of Pastra village; it plays an important role not merely as a
religious site, but as an organic link between the religious, spiritual, cultural and
historical site situated along its length.
Religious, cultural and historical monuments around Rila Monastery
In the immediate vicinity of the Rila Monastery Nature Park are a number of
monuments of the religious and historical heritage of national significance.
Pchelino Nunnery
This monastery croft built in the late XIX and early XX century is located four km to
the west of the Monastery complex, in immediate proximity to the Pilgrim`s road. It
represents a solid-built two-storey structure surrounded by a stone fence.
The Dormition of St. Mary (The Holy Virgin) Church
Built in late 18 th century, the church lays a little ways north of Pchelino Farmhouse.
The frescoes, completed in 1834, are of high artistic value.
Rila monastery Nature Park
ManaegmentPlan - Draft
2004 - 2013
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