Speech by H.E. Mrs. Dessislava Ivanova, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Bulgaria to Georgia

Published in Culture

Tuesday, 25 May 2021 16:34

Speech by H.E. Mrs. Dessislava Ivanova, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Bulgaria to Georgia on the occasion of 24^th of May - Day of the Holy Brothers St. Cyril and St. Methodius, the Bulgarian Alphabet, Education and Culture and the Slavic Literature

"Each year on 24^th of May the Republic of Bulgaria and Bulgarians around the world celebrate the Day of the Holy Brothers St. Cyril andSt. Methodius, the Bulgarian Alphabet, Education and Culture and the Slavic Literature. That’s the official name of the Day. For all us Bulgarians, but this is shortly the Day of Our Letters.

This day has been celebrated in Bulgaria for nearly 160 years now making it the longest celebrated holiday in the country’s late history, cherished almost as a Second National Day.

24th of May is a Day that has no analogue in the rich pantheon of the Bulgarian festive calendar. For us Bulgarians it is the Day of our letters. The day on which all first grade students declare and celebrate the fact of their literacy. This is the professional day of all teachers, professors at Universities, of all people engaged in culture and education, of all of us that have ever been part of the school system! This means – literally everybody.

This is the day of the Bulgarian literature, enlightenment and culture. It is an occasion to celebrate the unbreakable Bulgarian strive towards spiritual rising, cultural achievements and knowledge.

With the accession of the Republic of Bulgaria to the European Union on 1 January 2007, Cyrillic alphabet – the alphabet that we celebrate today, became the third official script of the European Union, following Latin and Greek.

This is the script, created at the end of the IX century in the Bulgarian Medieval State, through which nowadays around 250 million people in the world express themselves. And we could only be proud and happy - as the Patriarch of the Bulgarian Literature Ivan Vazov said - that we were in a position to share this cultural treasure with the rest of the world.

In mid IX century the Holy Brothers Cyril and Methodius created in then Moravia the first Slavic alphabet – the so called Glagolitic alphabet, whose letters were based on the three holy elements of Christianity - cross, triangle, and circle, and started translating in it the main Christian Orthodox scripts in order to spread the influence of Christianity. The letters, created by St. Cyril and St. Methodius, their translations of the liturgical books, their fight to protect the rights of all nations to do honor of God in their own languages have a historical significance for the mankind.

Subsequently, towards the end of IX century - after the death of Cyril and Methodius, acting under the auspice of the Bulgarian King and in the territory of the then Medieval Bulgarian State, the Glagolitic alphabet, created by the Holy Brothers, was modified by their renowned disciples – later known as St. Kliment of Ohrid and St. Naum of Preslav. This second Slavonic alphabet, that is still in use - was called Cyrillic in honor of the great teacher.

Coming into existence in the First Bulgarian Kingdom, the new script became during the centuries the basis of alphabets used in various languages, especially those of Orthodox Slavic origin, but not only.

All Bulgarians consider the life and work of the Holy Brothers and their disciples humanistic, democratic and part of the general human idea for equality in the spiritual field.

24^th of May has a profound significance for the Bulgarian national development and the prosperity of the Bulgarian nation, as well as to the re-awakening of the Bulgarian self-awareness during our Renaissance and National Revival in XVIII-XIX century".

Happy 24^th of May to all of us!

Read 503 times

Tagged under

Related items

Ambassador Dunnigan lauded General Shalikashvili's legacy and the center's enduring role in empowering its partners

The George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies’ annual conference convenes distinguished alumni from across the Black Sea region to discuss challenges and solutions for Georgia, Moldova, and Ukraine on their path to EU membership.

Under General Shalikashvili's leadership, George C. Marshall Center was established to stabilize and strengthen post-Cold War Europe. A child of Poland, Germany, Georgia, and the American Midwest, General Shalikashvili helped rebuild the post-soviet world.

Ambassador Dunnigan lauded General Shalikashvili's legacy and the center's enduring role in empowering its partners.
VIDEO / Irakli Garibashvili, Prime Minister of Georgia Meets Zhou Qian, Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Georgia
Irakli Garibashvili, Prime Minister of Georgia met H.E. Zhou Qian, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People's Republic of China to Georgia today.

Friendly and strategic partnership between the two countries was noted with satisfaction at the meeting. Current agenda of bilateral relations was also discussed.

Intensification of cooperation between the countries in various areas was given a high assessment and hopes were expressed towards the format of strategic partnership, which will lead to a further development of sectoral, economic and trade relations between the people.

Successful cooperation between the two countries was also highlighted at the meeting for the development of a special geopolitical location of Georgia, which increases its potential as a corridor connecting east and west.

Historic importance of the visit paid by the Prime Minister of Georgia at the invitation of H.E. Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China was highlighted at the meeting and its huge role in solidifying the relations between Georgia and China at a strategic level.

Prime Minister of Georgia most positively reiterated the outstanding role, vision and achievements of effective governance of the President of the People's Republic of China in the transformation and advancement of China, thereby focusing on various wide-scale reforms planned by the Government of China under the leadership of the President, including the initiatives of global significance, as well as different and extraordinary vision of the President of China in solving and regulating the problems witnessed at a regional and international scale.

The Prime Minister of Georgia also commented on the statement made by the Mme President of Georgia in relation to H.E. Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China in an interview with a French Television Channel LCI, thereby stating that such wording is categorically unacceptable and alarming.

Referred rhetoric contradicts the attitude of the Georgian authorities and people of Georgia towards China and does not comply with a friendly, strategic partnership spirit of the two countries, thereby harming the friendly relations and partnership between the two countries. According to the Prime Minister of Georgia, it is unfortunate and by far not the first instance when Mme President of Georgia has violated the Constitution by harming the state interests, pursuing individual activities and making personal assessments of international affairs that are not aligned with the government position, as a result of which the international image of the country suffers. Her public and grave breaches of the Constitution have served as a reason for the ruling team to initiate the Impeachment of Mme President.

According to the Prime Minister, Georgia is a parliamentary republic, whereby the president is not entitled to run the foreign policy of the country. It is the exclusive discretion of the Government of Georgia to carry out the foreign policy of the country and such a mandate has only been granted to the Government by the Georgian people. Thus, the statement made by Mme President of Georgia does not even formally express the attitude of the Georgian authorities towards the state and leader of China.

The Prime Minister of Georgia expressed deploration for the statement made by the President of Georgia, thereby expressing hopes that it will not affect or harm the historically most positive relationship dynamics between Georgia and China.

By the close of the meeting, dignitaries expressed readiness to maintain the active agenda of relations and to work for greater solidification of interaction between the two countries.

Press Service of the Government Administration
Prospects of Inter-parliamentary cooperation between Turkmenistan and Georgia were discussed

On November 6, 2023, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Turkmenistan in Georgia Mr. D. Seyitmammedov met with Chairman of Parliament of Georgia Mr. Shalva Papuashvili.

During the meeting, special attention was paid to the interaction between legislative bodies of the two countries, which is an integral component in the development of comprehensive Turkmen-Georgian cooperation. The sides also discussed promising areas of cooperation in trade, economic, transport and communication, energy, as well as in the humanitarian and cultural spheres.

Particular emphasis was placed on the intensification of cooperation between the Inter-Parliamentary Friendship Groups of the two countries, which serves an important tool for promoting constructive partnership, maintaining the bonds of friendship and mutual between countries and peoples.

The participants also discussed the issues related to the organization of visit of Chairman of Parliament of Georgia in Turkmenistan and noted the increasing role of parliamentary diplomacy in the political and diplomatic sphere.
Ambassador of Turkmenistan presented his Credentials to the President of Georgia

On October 24, 2023, the ceremony of presenting credentials by Ambassador Dovletmyrat Seyitmammedov to the President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Turkmenistan in Georgia was held at the Presidential Palace.

During the talks, the President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili congratulated the Ambassador of Turkmenistan on the appointment and wished him success in his diplomatic activities.

In turn, the Ambassador conveyed warm greetings and best wishes to the President Salome Zourabichvili on behalf of the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov and the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.

Having expressed gratitude for the warm regards on behalf of the Leadership of Turkmenistan, the President of Georgia Salome Zourabichvili asked the Ambassador to convey the warmest and most friendly greetings to the President of Turkmenistan Serdar Berdimuhamedov and the National Leader of the Turkmen people, Chairman of the Halk Maslahaty of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, as well as expressed the wishes of peace and prosperity to the people of Turkmenistan.

During the meeting, the sides touched upon the strengthening of relations between the two countries including the comprehensive expansion of bilateral political, trade-economic and cultural - humanitarian cooperation.
Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili meets new Ambassador of the Kingdom of the Netherlands
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili held an introductory meeting with Meline Arakelian, new Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to Georgia.

In the meeting at the Government Administration, the key directions of cooperation between Georgia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands were discussed.

The discussed topics included the relations between Georgia and the Kingdom of the Netherlands which are characterized by a growing dynamic both on the bilateral level and within the frameworks of international organizations.

Attention at the meeting was paid to the process of Georgia’s European integration. The Head of Government briefed the Ambassador on Georgia’s progress and the state of affairs in the implementation of the 12 recommendations. He also pointed out that Georgia is expecting the candidate status by the end of this year.

The Prime Minister emphasized the importance of granting the candidate status to Georgia and the significance of support from the Kingdom of the Netherlands in this process.

Irakli Garibashvili congratulated Meline Arakelian on the commencement of her diplomatic mission in Georgia and wished her success in her future endeavors.

Press Service of the Government Administration