Sleeping of the Mother of God (Targovishte)

Marian vocation of Targovishte (Targovishte)
Recognized by the Church

The Church of the Sleeping of Mary is located in Targovishte, in the old town of Varosha, and is dedicated to the advocation of the Sleeping or Transit of the Mother of God. It is an Orthodox temple attached to the diocese of Varna and Preslav of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. The precise date of its foundation is not recorded in the available sources.

Main data

Origin and history

The Church of the Sleeping of Mary is located in Targovishte, in the old town of Varosha, and is dedicated to the advocation of the Sleeping or Transit of the Mother of God. It is an Orthodox temple attached to the diocese of Varna and Preslav of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. The precise date of its foundation is not recorded in the available sources.

The image and the sanctuary

The temple conserves the Byzantine liturgical and iconographic tradition, with iconostasis and the veneration of icons of the Theotokos of the orthodox rite. The available sources do not contain a unique Marian icon with miraculous stories associated with this church.

Sponsorship and coronation

The Sleeping of the Mother of God is the headline of the temple. There is no canonical coronation or civil patronage.

Party and devotion

The main feast is the Sleeping of the Mother of God on August 15, one of the great Marian celebrations of the Bulgarian Orthodox calendar, lived with liturgical solemnity and influx of faithful. They do not contain, in available sources, unique devotional practices other than those of this party.

Link to the Rosary

The Latin rosary is not part of the piety of this Orthodox tradition, whose Marian devotion is expressed in the Byzantine liturgy and in the veneration of the icons of the Mother of God. The advocation of the Sleep presents Mary glorified with her Son, the focus of Marian prayer shared by Catholics and Orthodox.