St Ivan Rilski Chapel
| St Ivan Rilski Chapel | |
|
British Antarctic Territory | |
|---|---|
 St Ivan Rilski Chapel | |
| Bulgarian Orthodox Church | |
| Location | |
| Location: | 62°38’30"S, 60°21’47"W |
| History | |
| Built 2001-2003 | |
| Information | |
The St Ivan Rilski Chapel (St John of Rila Chapel, Bulgarian: Параклис Свети Иван Рилски) stands within the Bulgarian St Kliment Ohridski Base on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands in the British Antarctic Territory. It is the first Eastern Orthodox edifice in Antarctica, and the southernmost Eastern Orthodox place of worship in the world. On nearby King George Island stands a Russian church, Trinity Church, which is a full church, not a chapel. These are amongst just eight churches on Antarctica.
History
The chapel was named after patron of the Bulgarians, St Ivan Rilski. It was built with the assistance of the Bulgarian Antarctic scientific team, whose research season from the beginning of the winter until the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. During this time, the base employs a total of between 12 and 15 people, geologists, biologists, doctors, meteorologists, botanists and others.[1]
The three foundation stones of the 3.5 by 3.5 m building were laid on 9 December 2001 by deacon Lyubomir Bratoev,[1] who participated in the tenth Antarctic expedition the next year.[2]
The chapel was shipped in pieces totaling a hundred cubic feet and three tons, on a Spanish ship. The completed chapel was consecrated on 9 February 2003.
The chapel’s bell was donated by Nikola Vasilev, former Vice Premier of Bulgaria who worked as a doctor at the Bulgarian base in the 1993/94 season, while the roof cross was donated by the Bulgarian artist Dicho Kapushev. The chapel features an icon of Jesus Christ the Bridegroom by the Bulgarian artist Georgi Dimov, and an icon of Ivan Rilski donated by President Georgi Parvanov of Bulgaria, who visited and lit a candle in the chapel on 15 January 2005.
St Ivan Rilski Chapel was provided with new premises in the 2011/12 season, situated on the north-east slopes of the hill nearer to the main buildings of the Bulgarian base.
See also
Outside links
 |
("Wikimedia Commons" has material about St Ivan Rilski Chapel) |
- Creations by the icon painter Georgi Dimov even at the South Pole. Sega Daily, 22 February 2003. (in Bulgarian)
- Ivanov, L. and N. Ivanova. Livingston Island. In: Antarctic: Nature, History, Utilization, Geographic Names and Bulgarian Participation. Sofia: Manfred Wörner Foundation, 2014. pp. 16–20. (in Bulgarian) ISBN 978-619-90008-1-6 (Second revised and updated edition, 2014. 411 pp. ISBN 978-619-90008-2-3)
- Ivanov, L. General Geography and History of Livingston Island. In: Bulgarian Antarctic Research: A Synthesis. Eds. C. Pimpirev and N. Chipev. Sofia: St. Kliment Ohridski University Press, 2015. pp. 17–28. ISBN 978-954-07-3939-7
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 The project for the first Eastern Orthodox chapel in Antarctica is ready Template:Webarchive. Church Gazette. 16–30 April 2002. (in Bulgarian)
- ↑ Penguins open Bulgaria’s EU bid. Sofia Echo, 30 January 2003.