Cross Forest (Borovo)

The cross on which Jesus was crucified is considered one of the most important holy relics in Christianity—an object believed to produce miracles. Over the years it was lost, but according to Bulgarian tradition, part of it is buried near the village of Borovo in the Rhodope Mountains. The site is located on a beautiful mountain peak in the Rhodopes, and around it a contemporary pilgrimage center has developed—the largest and most important in Bulgaria.

Queen Helena, the mother of Emperor Constantine, is said to have found the cross during her journey to Jerusalem and brought it to the palace in Constantinople. According to legend, Russian messengers later stole a part of it. When Helena learned of this, she sent horsemen after them, and they decided to hide the cross on top of a high mountain in the Rhodopes. A monastery was later established at the site, and people came there to be healed. With the arrival of the Turkish conquerors, the cross was hidden—along with the holy monastery that surrounded it—and the location was forgotten.

At the beginning of the 20th century, a man named Yordancho from the village of Kovachevitsa dreamed of a holy place near Borovo in the Rhodope Mountains that was waiting for the time when Bulgaria would be ready for its discovery. He made his way there on foot and found the remains of the ancient Cross Monastery on a hill near the village of Borovo.

He shared the discovery with none other than King Boris, who—surprisingly—believed the man’s vision and, in 1936, built a church on the spot with a bronze cross. Later, a holy spring was found, and an icon of the Shroud of Mary with miraculous powers was brought to the site. (The legends and development of the place are somewhat reminiscent of the site of Međugorje in Bosnia.) This is how the Forest of the Cross became the most important pilgrimage site in Bulgaria, especially on the Feast of the Holy Cross, celebrated on September 14th.

In the 1990s, the site saw massive development: the Church of the Shroud of Mary was built at the top of the hill, and twelve chapels were constructed along the forest path leading to it. These were lovingly decorated by talented young artists. Visitors to Cross Forest often report miracles, and some stay overnight at the site. It is an hour’s drive through beautiful mountain roads, beginning near the Monastery of Bachkovo.