The Holy Martyr Boyan, Prince of Bulgaria

Commemorated on March 28

      The Holy Martyr Boyan, Prince of Bulgaria, suffered for the faith in Christ in about the year 830. When his pagan brother Malomir (Vladimir) entered upon the Bulgarian throne, noble prince Boyan turned to him with a request to set free from imprisonment the Christian Kinnamon (Kinam), who for a long time was in prison for refusing to participate in pagan offering of sacrifice under prince Obrit (Krutogon), the predecessor of prince Malomir.
      The wish of noble prince Boyan was fulfilled and he, seeing the extreme exhaustion of Kinnamon, asked him what it was that he had so much suffered. In a lengthy conversation the enlightened Christian explained to the pagan prince Boyan the mistakenness of paganism and the need of the Christian faith for salvation. At the end of the amicable talk he told the prince: "Without Jesus Christ there is no light for the mind, nor life for the soul. He alone is Teacher of mankind and our Saviour, having reconciled fallen mankind with the true righteousness of God by His death. If thou wish not to perish – believe in the Lord Jesus". Prince Boyan accepted holy Baptism with joy. The newly-converted prince, having come to Christian piety, was imbued with sincere love for prayer, fasting and meditation about God. Malomir, having learned about the conversion of his brother to Christianity, demanded of him a renunciation of the Christian faith and his return to paganism. Instead, the holy Prince Boyan answered: "I despise the pagan idols and I revere Christ, the True God, and no one can sway me from love for Christ". Malomir, hearing the answer of his brother, sentenced him to death by execution. Before his martyr's death the holy confessor-prince prophetically declared: "The faith for which I now die will spread throughout all the Bulgarian land. In vain do they hope to stop it by my death. Temples to the True God wilt be raised up, and the services to Him will not cease, but the idols and their foul sacrifices will vanish". And with a final prophetic word he turned to his brother Malomir: "From thy harshness thou will receive no benefit, and soon death wilt overtake thee".
      The predictions of the holy martyr, killed by the sword, were first of all fulfilled over his brother. Malomir soon died, and since he had no heir, his elder brother Presiyan (836-852) succeeded to the throne. The son of prince Presiyan, – the holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Prince Boris, in holy Baptism Michael (Comm. 2 May), afterwards baptsied the Bulgarian nation. Thus was fulfilled the prophesy of the holy Martyr Prince Boyan. 

© 1996-2001 by translator Fr. S. Janos.