Good Friday in Sofia

On the streets of Sofia, people are having coffee soaking up on the sun. I find myself on Boulevard Vitosha, and along the road is the Sveta Nedelya church. Flocks of Bulgarians from all walks of life are there for Good Friday. I was surprised about this because I knew that usually, Good Friday is celebrated on a different date in the Eastern Church. Having checked the Internet, it turns out that they can fall on the same day.

Inside the church, people line up to receive leaves from the “priest,” then they kiss the Bible and a cross on the altar. After that, they crawl under that table, stand up and light a candle around some regions of the church. A while ago, I was wondering about the aim of that tradition; it turns out that the table is a representation of the coffin of Christ, going under, and rising cleanses you from sin.

As they make their way out of the church, a few of them would kiss images of Saints along the halls of the church. A Bulgarian chap told me the tradition has pagan origins.

An hour after that, I went to a coffee house just outside of the Rotunda church. I asked the waitress if they had pastries, and she said, not on this day. Did she mean that they usually serve food, but that Good Friday was an exception?

I couldn’t have clear answers from her because of the language barrier. For example, I asked her about what was going on inside the churches: “Today is a happy day in Bulgaria”… She could have meant Holliday, or it could have been the literal translation of “Great Friday” in English.