The St. George Church in Sozopol will host the relics of St. John the Baptist in addition to a piece of the Holy Cross and relics of St. Andrew. Photo by bp.blogspot.com
The Bulgarian government has decided to allocate additional funds for the renovation of the St. George Church in the town of Sozopol which will host the recently discovered relics of St. John the Baptist.
The Cabinet had already provided BGN 150 000 specially for the St. George Church in the Black Sea town of Sozopol but on Wednesday it decided to add another BGN 420 000 for repairs and additional infrastructure.
“I am sending there today Finance Minister Simeon Djankov and Diaspora Minister Bozhidar Dimitrov together with the Mayor of Sozopol and the District Governor of Burgas to see the sites so that we can grant more money if needed in order to make Sozopol an attractive place for tourists,” Borisov declared.
The Sozopol Mayor Panayot Reyzi thanked the government and the Prime Minister who personally provided a silver sarcophagus for keeping the relics of St. John the Baptist.
The relics, which include part of an arm bone, a skull bone, and a tooth, were found in a sealed marble reliquary in the St. John the Forerunner Church on the St. Ivan Island near Sozopol on July 28, 2010, by the team of archaeologists led by Prof. Kazimir Popkonstantinov.
The Bulgarian authorities believe Sozopol can become a “Second Jerusalem” because the local church St. George already has a piece of the Holy Cross, and relics of St. Andrew.