The Buzludzha monument. Former Communist headquarters of Bulgaria. An abandoned hulk now it was built on the spot where the 1876 uprising was organized.
Posted on 05/05/2026 3:15:03 AM PDT by Cronos
A nationwide commemorative assembly marking the 150th anniversary of the April Uprising of 1876 was held at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, under the patronage of Vice President Iliana Yotova.
Earlier in the day, a memorial service for the heroes who gave their lives for Bulgaria’s freedom was held at the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky. The service was led by Bulgarian Patriarch Daniil, concelebrated by Bishop Gerasim of Melnik, Bishop Ioan of Branitsa, and clergy from the capital. Among those attending were Vice President Yotova, Prime Minister Andrey Gyurov, members of the academic community, politicians, and public figures.
In his remarks before the service, Patriarch Daniil emphasized that the Church continually honors those who sacrificed their lives for faith and country, offering prayers for their repose at every liturgy. He noted that the self-sacrifice of the uprising’s martyrs helped awaken international awareness and moved both global powers and divine mercy toward the Bulgarian people.
“May the prayers of the holy martyrs of the April Uprising help us remain steadfast in our Orthodox faith, which teaches courage, honesty, and sacrificial love for others,” the Patriarch said, concluding with a blessing for the nation.
Following the service, a procession led participants to the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, where the official assembly took place. The event was opened by BAS President Evelina Slavcheva, with addresses delivered by Patriarch Daniil, Sofia University Rector Prof. Georgi Valchev, and Vice President Yotova.
In his speech, the Patriarch highlighted that the April Uprising demonstrated the active role of the Bulgarian people in shaping their history, rejecting the idea of passive destiny. He stressed that faith calls for cooperation between human freedom and divine providence in the pursuit of salvation and national renewal.
The gathering also featured an academic lecture by Prof. Ivan Ilchev, titled “The Uprising That Returned Bulgaria to the Map of Europe.” The event was part of a broader national initiative, including a commemorative program organized to honor the anniversary of one of Bulgaria’s most significant historical milestones.
The American community around Robert College in Istanbul, the Protestant mission in Plovdiv headed by J.F. Clarke as well as two other Americans, journalist Januarius MacGahan and diplomat Eugene Schuyler, were indispensable in bringing knowledge of Ottoman atrocities to the wider European public
Their reports of the events, which came to be known in the press as the Bulgarian Horrors and the Crime of the Century, caused a public outcry across Europe and mobilised both common folks and famous intellectuals to demand a reform of the failed Ottoman model of governance of the Bulgarian lands.
The shift in public opinion, in particular, in the Ottoman Empire's hitherto closest ally, the British Empire, eventually led to the re-establishment of a separate Bulgarian state in 1878
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The Ottoman response was immediate and severe. Irregular bashi-bazouks, sometimes accompanied by army detachments, were swiftly mobilized. These forces attacked the first insurgent towns as early as 25 April. The Ottomans massacred civilian populations, the principal places being Panagurishte, Perushtitza, Klisura, and Batak
The bashi-bozouk went around the houses, raiding and burning them. Many people decided to hide in the houses of the wealthy or in the church, which had a stronger structure and would protect them from fire.
On 14 May [O.S. 2 May] 1876, those hidden in the House of Bogdan surrendered, as Ahmet Agha had pledged to spare them. The pledge was not kept: in the end, more than 200 men, women and children were led out, stripped out of their valuables and clothes, and brutally killed. The Agha asked some of the wealthy men of Batak to go to his camp and lay down all the arms of the villagers. Amongst them was the mayor, Trendafil Toshev Kerelov, and his son, Petar Trendafilov Kerelov. They had supposedly reached an agreement that if the village disarmed, the paramilitaries would withdraw from Batak. However, once the rebels' arms had been confiscated, all of them were beheaded, burnt alive or impaled
After the Ottoman paramilitaries destroyed Batak’s school, burning 200 people hidden in the basement alive, they headed to the Bulgarian Orthodox church “Sveta Nedelya”, which ended up being the last keep of the residents of the village.
On the morning of 15 May [O.S. 3 May] 1876, the bashi-bazouk took over the yard of the church and advanced to the door, but were unable to get in—–the door was barred by the people inside
Unable to go on without water, the survivors came outside on the third day. When they opened the doors of the church, ruthless slaughter ensued, where only those who accepted to be converted to Islam were spared
The plans of the Ottoman leader were to populate the village with the converted villagers, but it turned out that there were not enough of them. Before the bashi-bozouk left the village, they tried to burn the church, yet the stone walls remained, and only the wooden furniture and the icons were destroyed. When a Russian commission went to inspect the village 3 months later, the Ottoman authorities tried to bury the bodies, but they could not hide the smell in the air. They also painted the walls of the church, but the blood stains showed up in time.
The Buzludzha monument. Former Communist headquarters of Bulgaria. An abandoned hulk now it was built on the spot where the 1876 uprising was organized.
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