OLD PAINTED WOODEN CROSS, SAINT JOHN RILSKI, BULGARIA

RARE OLD PAINTED WOODEN CROSS IS IN GOOD CONDITION. PAINTED PAPER IS PASTED UP TO THE WOODEN CROSS, BUT PAPER IS SLIGHTLY DAMAGED AT THE LOWER END. EXCEPT THE CRUCIFIX THERE IS AN IMAGE OF SAINT JOHN RILSKI ON THE BOTTOM OF THE CROSS AND MONASTERY FOUND BY HIM IN THE 10th CENTURY. COMMEMORATING DATES  - 946/ 1946 ALSO APPER THERE. CROSS COMMEMORATES A 1000 YEARS OF SAINT'S DEATH. JOHN RILSKI IS THE MOST FAMOUS BULGARIAN SAINT AND MONASTERY FOUND BY HIM IS ONE OF THE FAMOUS BULGARIAN LANDMARKS. THERE IS A STAMP OF RILA MONASTERY ON THE BACK SIDE OF CROSS. HEIGHT - 15 CM/ 5''7/8; LENGTH - 7,7CM/ 3''

The Monastery of Saint John of Rila, better known as the Rila Monastery (Bulgarian: Рилски манастир, Rilski manastir) is the largest and most famous Eastern Orthodox monastery in Bulgaria. It is situated in the northwestern Rila Mountains, 117 km south of the capital Sofia in the deep valley of the Rilska River at an elevation of 1,147 m above sea level.

Founded in the 10th century, the Rila Monastery is regarded as one of Bulgaria's most important cultural, historical and architectural monuments. It is on account of this also a key tourist attraction in Bulgaria and Southeastern Europe as a whole

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