Church of St. Prophet Elijah Stanchov Han village

Overview

Built in the second half of the 19th century. A functioning temple.

The stories of many men and women who are part of the Christian religion most often tell of miraculous healings in the name of Christ. While the story of the holy prophet Elijah is different, exceptional, marked by endless miracles. He is revered today not only by Christians, but also by Muslims, Jews, many denominations of the Christian religion, and Bulgarian folk beliefs also make him one of their heroes.

Elijah is a prophet who lived in the 9th century BC in the ancient lands of Israel. He preached the faith in Yahweh in the time of King Ahab, one of the most cruel Gentiles, who restored the cult of the demonic deity Baal.

The biography of the prophet describes how, through his prayer, Elijah locked the heavens for three and a half years so that it would not rain. This is how he got into an argument with Ahab over his faith in the true God. They were both to offer a sacrifice at Mount Carmel, with the intention that any sacrifice struck by heavenly fire would be considered to have received God's favor. The fiery sign in question fell on the sacrifice offered by Elijah, and immediately it rained and watered the earth. This put an end to the pagan worship of Baal.