Tourism Minister Ilin Dimitrov and Sliven Metropolitan Arseniy met to discuss how to promote the "Camino Bulgaria – Path to the Relics of St. John the Baptist" pilgrimage route, the ministry said.
Professor Kazimir Popkonstantinov found the saint's relics in 2010 on St. Ivan Island near Sozopol. Orthodox Christians view them as one of their most sacred items. St. John the Baptist is a key figure in Christian history as the last Old Testament prophet and the one who announced Jesus Christ.
"We will help promote this new route, which connects many of Bulgaria's treasures. It must become part of how we talk about our country's tourism options," Minister Dimitrov said.
Metropolitan Arseniy spoke about the importance of the path to the relics of St. John the Baptist, also known as the Forerunner, and said it needs to grow in a steady way. "God blessed his relics to be found here. This is a sign of God's mercy to our people," the Metropolitan said.
The "Camino Bulgaria" route is 81km long. The path starts in Malko Tarnovo and ends at the relics in Sozopol, passing through these municipalities:
- Malko Tarnovo
- Tsarevo
- Primorsko
- Sozopol
- Burgas
Last year, former Tourism Minister Miroslav Borshosh said pilgrimage tourism in Bulgaria is growing by 5% to 10% each year.
Last year on June 30, the Bulgarian Tourist Union held an info day for the "On the Path of Faith" project to open the "Rila Miracle Worker" pilgrimage path. President Rumen Radev supported the project, and Patriarch Daniel gave it his blessing. The Bulgarian Tourist Union, the Sofia University Faculty of Theology, and the Sofia Municipality organized the event.