The Church honours Saints Zinovy and Zinovia today, Friday 30 October. Hieromartyr Zinovy, Bishop of Aegae, had a gift for healing the sick, according to his life story. His sister, the martyr Zinovia, met the same death for her faith. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church also honours King St Stefan Milutin on this date. In Sofia, a patriarchal Divine Liturgy marks his day at the cathedral of St Nedelya, where his incorrupt relics have lain for more than 560 years.
Zinovy and Zinovia were brother and sister from Aegae, a town in Cilicia. The region lies on the southern coast of Asia Minor, in present-day Turkey. Their parents were devout and raised them in the faith.
According to their life story, God gave Zinovy the gift of healing the sick, and he was later chosen as bishop. That faith later cost both of them their lives.
Beheaded in the first years of Diocletian's rule
After brutal torture, the two were beheaded. The life story puts this around AD 285, though some sources say around AD 290, under Emperor Diocletian. Diocletian ruled from AD 284 and went down in history for the harshest persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire. His most severe decrees against the Church came only in AD 303. Zinovy and Zinovia died in the first years of his reign.
Zornitsa, Zorka and Zoran celebrate
Today is the name day of Zornitsa, Zoritsa and Zoran, and everyone with related names. People named after the saints themselves, Zinovy and Zinovia, also owe a treat. The feast falls on a Friday, so the celebration can easily run into Saturday.
The Bulgarian names of the day come from the word for dawn. Zornitsa is the old folk name for the morning star, which can be seen low over the horizon shortly before sunrise. Zorka and Zoritsa are the affectionate forms. Zoran is the male name, which is also found in Serbia and North Macedonia.
A holiday for real estate brokers too
30 October is also the professional day of real estate brokers and agents. The Council of Ministers declared it in Decision No 158 of 25 February 2021. The industry marks it for the sixth time this year.
BTA lists several anniversaries for the date. In 1849, the first European theatre performance in the Bulgarian lands was staged in Vidin. The town was then part of the Ottoman Empire, and the Liberation was almost three decades away. On 30 October 1912, during the Balkan War, Rayna Kasabova flew over Edirne as an observer pilot on a military flight. She became the first Bulgarian woman on a military mission in the air. In 1960, Bulgaria established diplomatic relations with Cyprus on this date.
Happy name day to all the Zornitsas, Zorkas and Zorans!