Bulgarian Antarctic Base Receives Icons of Virgin and Child, St. Demetrios
Bulgarian Antarctic researchers installed icons of the Virgin and Child and St. Demetrios in their new base lab as spiritual guardians.
LIVINGSTON ISLAND, ANTARCTICA — On Tuesday, icons of the Virgin and Child and of St. Demetrios were installed at the new laboratory of the Bulgarian Antarctic research base “St. Clement of Ohrid.” The icons were generously donated by Patr. Daniel of Bulgaria and Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew.
Professor Christo Pimpirev, head of the 34th Bulgarian Antarctic Expedition, explained that the icon of the Virgin and Child was blessed and presented at a ceremony at the Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky by Patr. Daniel before being sent to the base to protect the Bulgarian settlement. The St. Demetrios icon was donated during a visit to Constantinople by the Bulgarian Antarctic Institute, where Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew personally offered it for installation.
The icons were placed in the base’s new laboratory building, which houses dormitories for 14 researchers, biology and geology labs, and a common workspace. Professor Pimpirev described the icons as “guardians of future generations” of polar scientists.
Previously, the UOJ reported that UOC hierarchs visited Patr. Daniel in Bulgaria.
