On August 21 we honor a brave Christian woman and her children. We also honor the memory of a Bulgarian with contributions to the development of Bulgarian history and his martyrdom.
Saint Vasa was the wife of an idol priest. She secretly professed the Christian faith. In this way, she also raised her children Feognius, Agapia and Pistus. They were Christians and believed in Christ.
During the persecutions of Christians under Emperor Maximian, Saint Vasa was captured. Betrayed by her own husband, she was tried and sentenced to death. Her children were also condemned and martyred. They were brutally tortured. After they did not deny Christ, they were beheaded before the eyes of their mother.
After them, Saint Vasa was also subjected to torture. She was martyred after being cut with a sword on the island of Alon in the Sea of Marmara. A church was built in her name in Chalcedon, Blitz reports.
Name day is celebrated by Vasa and Vaso.
It is not a name day, but on August 21 we honor the memory of Saint Simeon Samokovski. Saint Simeon Samokovsky is an important historical figure who accepted martyrdom. Saint Martyr Simeon (Stefan) of Samokovsky and Sofia is one of the 9 Saints of Sofia. He is the patron of Samokov.
For the first time, his image was painted on a mural in the 70s of the 19th century by the Samokov painter Nikola Obrazopisov. The date of birth is unknown, but his birth name is Simeon Popovich.
On August 28, 1734, Saint Simeon Samokovski was ordained Metropolitan of Samokovski. In Samokov, he served in Belova Church, but also served the city of Dupnitsa.
During Rusko – Austria – the Turkish war (1735-1739) Saint Simeon Samokovski led the Uprising of the bishops in Sofia and Samokovski. This is a conspiracy against Ottoman rule.
Senior clerics such as the Serbian-Bulgarian Ipek Patriarch Arseniy IV are involved in it. The center of the certification is the monastery "St. Spas” above the Sofia village of Dolni Lozen in the Lozen mountain. The Turks learn of the conspiracy.
At the end of July and the beginning of August 1737, 350 Sofia citizens, monks, priests and people from the surrounding villages were massacred. This was done following an order from Ali Pasha Küprülüoğlu, who commanded the Turkish troops on the Austrian front. These sacrifices are a preventive measure against new plots.
On July 20 of the same year, the home of Metropolitan Simeon Samokovski was attacked and robbed by the Turks. The bishop is chained and imprisoned in the dungeon. For 23 days he was brutally tortured. On August 18, he was taken to Sofia.
He looked desperate. His hair and beard were pulled out. His whole body was covered in wounds and blood. Chained and with maces on his feet. In Sofia, he was thrown into the Turkish barracks. Levski spent his last days there years later.
For another 3 days, the Turks made attempts to Turkify it. But Saint Simeon Samokovski categorically refused. He was accused of being the leader and main organizer of the conspiracy (conspiracy) against the Sultan. Ali Pasha's order is categorical – death by hanging.
On August 21, 1737, the gallows was erected behind the church of Saint Sophia. Vasil Levski was also hanged there on February 18, 1873. When Saint Simeon Samokovski was hanged alive, the gallows broke. Then the noose rope broke.
The Turks did not give up and put him on the gallows for the third time. Then they manage to hang him. The dead body hung for 3 days. The rope broke again.
For fear of glorifying the dead metropolitan, Ali Pasha issued an order not to bury the body in Sofia.
Saint Simeon Samokovsky is buried in Samokov, in the Belova Church. In 1994, archaeologist Veselin Hadjiangelov found a grave in the vestibule of the same church. It contained bones, gold-woven bishop's vestments, a metropolitan staff and a gospel.
A note was found in the Rila Monastery. It was written by Saint Simeon Samokovski in his own hand. The inscription is in the correct Bulgarian language with beautiful handwriting.
Saint Simeon wrote when and why he visited the Rila Monastery. In 2000, Saint Simeon Samokovsky was canonized as a saint – a martyr for the faith.