Survey
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
* Your assessment is very important for improving the workof artificial intelligence, which forms the content of this project
WE ALL CAME HERE FROM SOMEWHERE… COMENIUS Multilateral school partnerships Religious diversity in Europe Religions in Bulgaria Bulgarian Orthodox 85%, Muslim 13%, Jewish 0.8%, Roman Catholic 0.5%, Uniate Catholic 0.2%, Protestant, Gregorian-Armenian, and other %0.5 Bulgaria is free country for practising one's own religion. By population percentage: christians are in first position, the 2nd is Islam. Then comes other smaller ones like: Jews Budhist practisioners is very very small (negligible) In 865 AD Bulgarian khan Boris converted Slavs and Bulgarians to Christianity. From this year on he fought for independent Bulgarian church and by the Glagolic alphabet brought here by the scholars of Cyril and Methodius, the Bulgarians could understand in their own language the Christian belief. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church got autonomous in 927 AD which makes it the oldest Slavic autocephalous church in the world. The Close relations between the Byzantine empire and Bulgaria led to similar cultural development based on the common faith. Ethnic groups: Bulgarian 85%, Turk 9%, other 6% ISLAM IN BULGARIA CHRISTIANITY IN OUR LANDS Muslims are the second largest religious group in Bulgaria. Most of them are Turks but there are also Bulgarian Muslims and Tatars. When the Ottoman empire conquered the Balkan monarchies XIV-XV C AD Ottoman Turks from Anatolia came and settled on the Balkans. Most of the Muslims are Sunni but there are also Shia Muslims in Bulgaria. Paul the apostle was the first to establish a Christian church in the Balkans. In III- IV C Ad, there were Christian communities in all important Balkan cities. The Eastern Roman Empire (or Byzantium empire) Started to sent priests to Christianize the Slavs, Goths, and other tribes which settled on its territory. BULGARIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH ROMAN CATHOLIOC CHURCH When Bulgarians were converted to Christianity, Boris I wanted an independent Bulgarian church and when the Byzantine empire refused to provide such, the Bulgarian prince started negotiations with the Pope of Rome. After all Bulgaria remained Orthodox Christian. New Catholic communities were established by Franciscan monks in XV C AD. 1 In XVII-XVIII C AD they used to be very active. In 1688 The Catholics from Chprovtsi rebelled against the Ottoman empire. They became refugees and settled in Banat (now in Serbia, Hungary, Romania). TOLERANCE Through fun games children in Momchilgrad (small town in Rodopa mountain mostly with Islamic population) learn about each other’s cultural identity in their free time. PROTESTANTS In the beginning of XIX C AD Protestant missionaries from USA and Britain came to Bulgaria to gain followers for the protestant church they belonged to. That is how the first Bulgarian Protestant communities were established. Throughout XIX and XX C AD different Protestant denominations like Lutherans, Evangelists, Baptists etc. found their followers in our country. New foreign Protestant schools were established. Today there are many Protestant communities in Bulgaria and their number continues to grow. JUDAISTS Judaism is one of the oldest monotheistic religions in the world. It recognizes the Old Testament of the Bible Jews used to live in these lands from the time when the Balkans were part of the Roman Empire. These Jews are called Romaniotes, there aren’t any left of them here nowadays because they merged with the other two groups who came to live in Bulgaria- Sephardic (Jews from Spain) and Ashkenazi( Jews from Germany)] Today the number of Bulgarian Jews is very small. As Islam is the second largest religion in the world after Christianity and a monotheistic faith that originated in the Middle East, it holds many beliefs and practices in common with Judaism and Christianity. Judaism, Islam and Christianity are collectively known as “Abrahamic religions” because they trace their history to the covenant God made with Abraham in the Hebrew Bible. A major task for all people is to remove bitterness, prejudice and ignorance, which stand in the way of good interfaith relations. We need to affirm the values that enable us to work together for a more just and peaceful world. If we can together make that commitment, we shall be faithful members of our religion, good citizens of our country and good citizens of the world. 122nd Primary school, Sofia, September. 2011 2