The church of St. Petka of Bulgaria is perhaps the youngest among the popular Bulgarian temples. It was built in 1994 with financial help from clairvoyant Baba Vanga. The temple was not designed according to the rules of the Orthodox Church: its murals contain scenes from real life, as insisted by the clairvoyant herself. Instead of the typical images of saints, the walls of the temple display anxious, desperate and suffering people of the kind that would visit Baba Vanga in search for hope, salvation and a way out. Because of its more modern style the administrators of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church initially refused to sanctify the church. Later, however, they changed their mind and the temple was ceremonially sanctified on St. Petko’s Day, 14 October 1994.

 

The church is located at the foot of the Kozhuh Planina (Fur Coat Mountain) height in the Rupite area, 3 kilometres away from the village of Rupite and 10 kilometres from the town of Petrich. The famous clairvoyant chose this place because she considered it an energy source from which she gathered power. The little house where she spent the last years of her life on earth is situated near the temple. It is preserved in the same fashion as Baba Vanga inhabited it and is open for visitors. The house, the church and the park that surrounds them form a whole monastery complex. There are a ritual hall and an exhibition hall as well as rooms for rest.