Church of St. George Belozem village

Overview

"Holy Martyr George" is an Orthodox church in the village of Belozem, part of the Plovdiv diocese of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.

Father Ivan Mihailov from the village of Meselime has been a priest in the village for a long time. In 1855 the construction of a new church began. The credit for this goes to Peyu Kyurkchiyata, who obtained permission from the sultan for this. In 1858 the church was completed. Father Nikola Bakalov from Koprivshtitsa was the first priest to serve in the church. The bell is a gift from the future mayor of Plovdiv Kostaki Peev and Panayot Peev.

After that, Father Nikola Gerov Belchev from Koprivshtitsa was also a priest in the village. He collected songs and prepared letters for Naiden Gerov. In 1860 he collected and published a small collection of folk songs "Pesnopoyche". In 1875 he returned to Koprivshtitsa and took part in the April Uprising. Captured, he was hanged along with other revolutionaries on July 17, 1876 in Plovdiv on Jumayata.

In 2011, the Bulgarian government allocated BGN 106,000 for the renovation of the temple. In 2018, on the day of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker, a new cross and the renovated dome of the church were consecrated at a solemn ceremony. The dome was restored with funds from the Russian Orthodox Church with the blessing of Patriarch Kirill Moskovsky. The cross that adorns the bell tower is the work of Ukrainian masters and was donated by Atanas Stefanov.