St. Ivan Rilski Chapel


The St. Ivan Rilski Chapel at the St. [Kliment Ohridski Base] of Bulgaria, on Livingston Island in the South Shetland Islands is the first Eastern Orthodox edifice in Antarctica, the southernmost Eastern Orthodox building of worship in the world, and one of eight churches on Antarctica.

History

The chapel was named after the patron of the Bulgarians, St. Ivan Rilski. It was built with the assistance of the Bulgarian Antarctic scientific team, whose research season lasts from the beginning of the winter until the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere. During this time, the base employs a total of between 12 and 15 people, geologists, biologists, doctors, meteorologists, botanists and others.
The three foundation stones of the 3.5 by 3.5 m building were laid on 9 December 2001 by deacon Lyubomir Bratoev, who participated in the tenth Antarctic expedition the next year.
The chapel was shipped in pieces totaling three cubic meters and three tons, via a Spanish ship. The completed chapel was consecrated on 9 February 2003.
The chapel’s bell was donated by Nikola Vasilev, ex-Vice Premier of Bulgaria who worked as a doctor at the Bulgarian base in the 1993/94 season, while the roof cross was donated by the Bulgarian artist Dicho Kapushev. The chapel features an icon of Bridal theology#The [New Testament and Jesus the Bridegroom|Jesus Christ the Bridegroom] by the Bulgarian artist Georgi Dimov, and an icon of St. Ivan Rilski donated by President Georgi Parvanov of Bulgaria, who visited and lit a candle in the chapel on 15 January 2005.
St. Ivan Rilski Chapel was provided with new premises in the 2011/2012 season, situated on the northeast slopes of Pesyakov Hill nearer to the main buildings of the Bulgarian base.

Maps