Christian symbols to feature on Bulgaria’s euro coins

Bulgaria’s euro coinage will depict two Bulgarian Orthodox saints as well as a 7th or 8th century rock relief dating found in the country’s northeast, its central bank announced on Monday.

Pending admission to the eurozone, the 2 euro coin will feature Saint Paisius of Hilendar (1722–1773), a Bulgarian clergyman and key figure in the Bulgarian National Revival who opposed the Hellenization policies of the mainly Greek Orthodox clergy. The coin contains the inscription “God save Bulgaria” on the edge.

Saint John of Rila (876–c. 946), the first Bulgarian hermit who lends his name to Bulgaria’s most famous monastery, Rila, will appear on the 1 euro coin. The saint is featured with a halo with eleven dots.

The remaining small denomination coinage will show the Madara Rider, a large early medieval rock relief carved on the Madara Plateau in northeastern Bulgaria. Three partially preserved texts in medieval Greek, carved in the rock, can be found around the image of the rider, which is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Faced with high inflation, Bulgaria is struggling to fulfill the criteria to join the eurozone. The earliest the coins could hit the streets would be January 1, 2025.

The Council of the European Union approved the proposed designs on February 1 after it received “no reasoned opinion or negative assessment” about them.

Eurozone countries may mint coins with their own symbols on the national side as long as they are not opposed by the other eurozone members and the European Commission.

Council regulations allow any eurozone member state to “raise an objection to the draft design proposed” by a new member “if that draft design was likely to create adverse reactions among its citizens.”

In 2012, some eurozone countries objected to a proposed Slovak commemorative €2 coin to mark the 1,150th anniversary of the arrival of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Moravia

Following consultations, the saints’ halos were removed.