Church of St. Ivan Rilski town Kresna

Overview

St. Ivan Rilski is a military church in the Nevrokop Diocese of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, a church-monument and ossuary in the Pirin town of Kresna, Bulgaria.
In the 1930s the village of Kriva Livada (Pirin Station from 1934) grew and the chapel of St. George at the military cemetery became small for a parish church. The church board decided to build a church-monument to the military events in the area and received permission from Metropolitan Boris Nevrokopski. Requests for sponsorship were sent to the relatives of those who died in the Second Army Hospital and were buried in the military cemetery Bulgarians, English, French, Germans and Italians. Donations come from the Holy Synod, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, embassies and individuals. The construction contract was won by Krum Tsekov from Zemen with an offer of BGN 340,000. The temple began to be built in 1939 and was consecrated on November 1, 1941.
The first priest of the church was Dimitar Popov, followed by Hristo Djokov from Gorna Dzhumaya, Hristo Rashkov, who died in Dupnitsa, Iliya Kostadinov Iliev from Gorna Breznitsa, Atanas Mahleliev, settler in Pirin Station, from 1988 Stoyan Atanasov Mahlelev and since 2000 - Krum Ladzhov from Vlahi and Georgi Tanchov from Dolna Gradeshnitsa.
The dimensions of the temple are large - 25 m long and 13 m wide. Architecturally, it is a single-nave, single-apse, domeless vaulted basilica. From the west there is a built-in bell tower, which is 16 m high. A wide staircase leads to the arched entrance. On the west side and the bell tower there are 5 arched and 3 square windows. There are 3 arched windows on the north and south walls. The altar to the east is 6 m high. There is an ossuary in the basement, which can be reached by an internal staircase.
The iconostasis is the work of Petar Kushlev, to whom preconditions are set for the material to be of high quality, the columns to be massive, and the iconostasis to be framed and not in parts. The carving of the iconostasis is openwork, simple and plastic, typical of the Debar Art School. Faces and scenes related to the church movement are skillfully incorporated. Most of the icons are the work of the Debar master Apostol Negriev Frchkov from Galichnik. In 1980 the church was painted by Borislav Bozhinov from Sandanski.