Nikolai Kantchev on the state of the Church in Bulgaria

Commenting on the state of the Church in Bulgaria Nikolai Kantchev writes in the daily Gradski vestnik that rather than Christian values shallowness and kitsch are spreading across the country: "It is sad. The Christian churches are emptier than the museums nowadays. Enter a church around midday, even one in a central location, and you'll meet at most ten people. Even sadder are the crowds who rush to attend mass at Christmas and Easter. And because there is no one to chase them away street traders lurk in front of churches offering tacky souvenirs. The Easter masses have become a schizophrenic mixture of singed hair, drunken extremists and Roma selling T-shirts and candles. … The devotion that one expects to find in churches has been replaced by hysterical cursing because of the overcrowding, the sound of doors being slammed and the shouting of people who hate themselves. Salvation can be bought by the gram or quarter of a litre. The smell of incense and the crackling of the burning candles have been replaced by explosions in restaurants and cars. Even the icons are different nowadays – with more silicon. Things should have been different."

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