March in support of Virtues and Religion school subject to be held in Sofia

Kristiyan Shkvarek. Photo: UOJ in Bulgaria

On May 17 at 12:00 p.m., a peaceful march in support of including the subject “Virtues and Religion” in the school curriculum will take place at Alexander Nevsky Square in Sofia. The event was announced to UOJ in Bulgaria by Kristiyan Shkvarek, chairman of the Conservative Society Foundation and the Family Month Association.

The march is being organized by the Conservative Society Foundation and the Family Month Association, with the blessing and support of the Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. It is intended as a response to a protest against the proposed subject, which is scheduled to occur two days earlier.

According to Kristiyan Shkvarek, the main goal of the march is to demonstrate that the majority of Bulgarians support giving parents more educational choices for their children.

"At present, most parents who want their children to attend a subject related to religion do not have that option. In Sofia, out of 250 schools, only seven principals have decided to offer it," Shkvarek noted.

He added that critics of the initiative have gone so far as to make absurd accusations: “I’ve heard the argument that this subject will supposedly let ‘Putin into Bulgarian schools.’ They call the teachers ‘old Putinists and Russophile women.’ But these very same teachers already teach your children in other subjects. There is nothing new or related to Russia in this subject,” he underscored.

Shkvarek also noted that the opponents of the subject are mainly “liberal-progressive leftists who are openly anti-clerical and atheist, fundamentally opposed to religion.”

Teachers, university professors, parents, and high school students are expected to participate in the march.

“We invite everyone who wants Bulgarian parents to have more freedom in choosing their children’s education to support us on May 17, Saturday, at 12:00 p.m. at Alexander Nevsky Square,” Kristiyan Shkvarek said.

Earlier, the UOJ reported on the celebrations in Bulgaria marking the 1160th anniversary of the Baptism of the Bulgarian people.

Read also