Monastery “Protection of the Holy Mother of God” Samokov

The monastery "Protection of the Holy Mother of God” in the town of Samokov was founded in 1772 by grandmother Fota. A wise Bulgarian, diplomat and teacher who took up monasticism in Ukraine, a great religious schema called Theoctist, who is also the first abbess of the monastery. Her grandson is the famous Revival writer and educator Konstantin Fotinov. Coming from the city of Plovdiv, the nun Teoktistiva became the reason for the nuns to gather in one place in Samokov, which is near the convent of the Hilendar Monastery on Mount Athos. This marks the beginning of today's Samokov convent.

The church of the monastery was built in 1837-1839. It is a three-nave building. The iconography is the work of one of the famous Samokov master carvers Stoycho Fandakov / 1810-1894 /. The icons were painted by Zahari Zograf and Dimitar Zograf - one of the most famous Bulgarian artists, representatives of the famous Samokov Art School. Next to the altar on the left is the icon of the Mother of God, which is believed to be miraculous. In the narthex you can see a rare and remarkable mural of the Holy Mother of God with angel wings or the Shroud of the Most Holy Mother of God with St. John of Rila and St. Stephen Milutin.

It is known that deacon Ignatius - the Apostle of Freedom Vasil Levski stayed in the monastery. Here he created the only revolutionary committee in Samokov, whose members were nuns.

In the middle of the 13th century more than 100 nuns and novices lived in the monastery. After the Liberation, the monastery continued to support itself from cloth-making, and the nuns participated in various international exhibitions. The diplomas, manuscripts, old printed books and relics of saints received from the exhibitions are kept in the holy monastery.

The Samokov Monastery is still a functioning convent with a Sunday school. Its temple holiday is on October 1 - Protection of the Blessed Virgin. The monastery is a cultural monument of national importance and is among the 100 national tourist sites.

Useful information

Monastery "Protection of the Most Holy Mother of God"
Town of Samokov, st. “Tsar Boris III” 77
Tel.: +359 885 255 466 - Abbess Pelagia

Work time:
6.00 - 18.00, no day off