Sveti Ivan
| Sveti Ivan | ||
|---|---|---|
 |
||
| Waters | Black Sea | |
| Archipelago | Black Sea Islands | |
| Geographical location | 42 ° 26 '19 " N , 27 ° 41' 34" E | |
|
||
| surface | 66 ha | |
| Residents | uninhabited | |
The island of Sweti Ivan ( Bulgarian Свети Иван "Holy Ivan") is the larger of two Bulgarian Black Sea islands , which are a few kilometers north of Sozopol in the Bay of Sozopol in the Gulf of Burgas . With an area of 0.66 km², Sweti Ivan is the largest of the five Bulgarian Black Sea islands. The island is named after Saint Ivan Rilski . Next to her is the smaller island of Sweti Petar .
history
Prehistory and Antiquity
In ancient times , the two islands were still connected and part of the ancient Greek city of Apollonia . Since there is no written evidence, it is assumed that a natural event divided the formerly contiguous island. Around the 7th century BC A Thracian sanctuary was located here . In the 4th century BC A large temple complex was built with a 13 meter high bronze statue dedicated to the Greek god Apollo . The statue was made in 72 BC. Brought to Rome by the approaching Romans as a trophy for victory and later melted down as part of the Christianization of the empire.
John the Baptist Monastery in the Middle Ages
Already at the end of the 5th century there was a monastery on the island , on the south bank of the island, with a view to the south, to the old town of Sozopol, 1.2 km away. However, the monastery basilica “St. Mother of God ”(Bulgar. Св. Богородица ) was erected on the site of the Apollo statue as early as 330 AD. In the Middle Ages it was rebuilt by the Bulgarian tsars in the style of the Preslav school and subordinated directly to them and also to the Byzantine emperors. From the 10th to the 14th century, the monastery was an important cultural center and was expanded several times. A second monastery church was built in 1263, dedicated to John the Baptist (Bulgarian "Св. Иван Предтеча").
In 1308 the marriage of the Bulgarian Tsar Theodor II. Swetoslaw with the daughter of the Byzantine co-emperor Michael IX took place here . , Theodora Palaiologina . From the year 1363 there is a document of the Byzantine emperor John V Palaiologos with gold fibers , in which the lands of the monastery (the village Sweti Nikola , the monastery and the island Sweti Kirik ) were described.
After Bulgaria came under the rule of the Ottomans , the monastery on Sweti Iwan was always part of the Patriarchate of Constantinople . Two patriarchs were buried here, and there is evidence that three patriarchs were monks here before. The monastery complex had a library, a royal residence and other buildings. The monastery was inhabited by both monks and nuns; this also explains why the monastery had two churches.
In 1453 the monastery was destroyed by the Turks. In the period from 1467 to 1471 it was rebuilt by the monk Gerwasi. In 1593 150 monks lived and worked in the island monastery. In 1623 and 1629 the monastery was attacked by pirates , mainly Cossacks from what is now eastern Ukraine . To avoid further attacks, the Turks destroyed all monasteries and churches in and around Sozopol. Before the monastery of John the Baptist was destroyed, the monks were able to move to the Virgin Mary Monastery on the island of Halki , near Constantinople (now Istanbul ) , taking the monastery library, the altar, the icons and other treasures with them .
Modern times and the present
In 1884 a lighthouse was built on the otherwise uninhabited island ( 42 ° 26 ′ 18 ″ N , 27 ° 41 ′ 26 ″ E ).
Today the island of Sweti Iwan with the island of Sweti Petar is part of a nature reserve in which over 70 endangered bird species nest. Most of them are on the Bulgarian Red List . Sveti Ivan has the largest colony of herring gulls in Bulgaria.
Excavations
During excavations financed by the Bulgarian and Norwegian state in the church altar of the former imperial monastery, archaeologists led by Kasimir Popkonstantinow found a reliquary with the inscription John the Baptist in August 2010 . A tooth and parts of a hand and jawbone were discovered in the urn. According to estimates by Bulgarian archaeologists, these are said to be relics of John the Baptist , which came from Constantinople to Sozopol in the 4th century AD. They are kept in the Church of the Holy Brothers Kiril and Methodius in Sozopol.
literature
- Boschidar Dimitrov (ed.): Apolonia Pontika . Sw. Kliment Ohridski, Sofia 2004, ISBN 954-07-1955-0 .
Web links
- Sozopol , www.burgasmuseums.bg, September 6, 2008
- After 300 years another high dignitary comes to the island of Sweti Ivan , www.factor-bs.com, September 6, 2008
Individual evidence
- ↑ Doncheva Svetlana: Article Sozopol. In: Encyclopaedia of the Hellenic World, Black Sea. Retrieved June 6, 2012 .
- ↑ Parts of John the Baptist are said to have appeared , in: Der Standard , August 3, 2010; Lost and Found, No. 875Body Parts of John the Baptist , n-tv; Bulgaria Looks to John the Baptist to Resurrect Flagging Economy , The Wall Street Journal; Archeology: Excavation and restoration of St Ivan Iceland near Sozopol financed by Norway , the Sofia Echo, Болгарские археологи заявляют, что нашли мощи Иоанна Крестителя , RIA Novosti , July 1, 2010