This project has been funded with support from the European Commission.
This web site reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.
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History of Religions
History of the 3 Monotheistic religions (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) and of the main different Christianity confessions (Roman Catholicism, Eastern Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, Anglicanism and Protestantism)
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Pedagogical Approaches
New pedagogical approaches to teach history of religion
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Role of Religions in Civilization
How to didactically promote among students of different confessions, the capacity of a critical analysis and understanding of the role played by religions in the history of mankind
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Interreligious Students’ Competences
Set of teaching contents, to be used by teachers to highlight and valorize the universal values of tolerance and universalisms that all Monotheistic religions and religious texts contain to promote and sustain mutual understanding among students
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Managing Multi-Religious Classes
Teaching Sources to help teachers dealing with multicultural and multi-religious classes
Map
An interactive didactical map interactive didactical map giving access to sites with a religious relevance.-
Introduction
A comparative review of the liturgical celebrations, ceremonies and dietary rules existing in the different religions.
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Celebrations
Description and comparative analysis of the celebrations of different religions and confessions
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Ceremonies
Description and comparative analysis of the ceremonies of different religions and confessions
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Dietary Rules
Description and comparative analysis of the dietary rules of different religions and confessions
Events
The Pathway through Religions project has been promoted trough conferences and articles.
Conferences
The Pathway through Religions project was presented in a number of events in order to report about the activities carried out and the results achieved
Press Review
The Pathway through Religions project partnership made contacts with web sites focusing on the fields of educationPartnership
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Contractual Partners
From this section it is possible to access to a description of each contractual partner of the Pathway through Religions project.
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Schools
From this section it is possible to access to the information about the schools involved in the Pathway through Religions Project in the European countries involved.
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Associated Partners
As a result of the exploitation activity a number of associated partners officially joined the project in order to contribute to the improvement of the project impact on their target groups and to ensure the project sustainability by continuing using the project deliverables in the next years.
This section of the Pathway through Religions portal provides administrative information for the project contractual partners and for the European Commission and it is password protected.
Map
Homepage > ReligiousSite Map > Map
An interactive didactical map interactive didactical map giving access to sites with a religious relevance.
Back to the Religious Sites List
St. Nedelya church, Batak
in the center of the Rhodopean town of Batak
RELIGIONS Orthodox
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELIGIOUS SITE
DESCRIPTION
The name of the small southern town of Batak will forever be associated with the April Uprising of 1876, one of the most heroic events in Bulgarian history, and a peak in the liberation struggle of the Bulgarians against the five centuries of Ottoman domination.
HISTORICAL RELEVANCE
The residents of Batak first fought the Turkish mercenaries on April 30, 1876. 5 000 people of the 6-7 000 population of Batak had been slaughtered in the massacre. The small church of Sveta Nedelya, built in the centre of the town has become a relic for every Bulgarian. What happened here 130 years ago has made the church into one of the symbols of April Uprising.
INTER-RELIGIOUS RELEVANCE
The Church of Sveta Nedelya turned out to be the last stronghold of the rebels. Probably because it was built entirely of stone, and had strong oak gates, and a high stone fence, or because no one would have dreamt that the Turks would dare destroy the temple. Nearly 2 000 people, women, children and elderly people gathered inside the church. The Ottoman troops had made an attempt to burn the church down, but failed completely because the church had been built entirely out of stone. Only the wooden iconostasis perished in the fire. The Turkish authorities even tried to erase every trace of violence because of the news of the international inquiry committee that was due to carry out an investigation at the idea of the Russian government. They tried to bury the corpses in one mass grave, and even painted the church on the inside, but the blood came out, and the Turks started caving out the walls. These have remained as evidence of the events of the spring of 1876.
RELIGIOUS INFLUENCE
After the Liberation in 1878, the church was no longer used for religious purposes. The residents of Batak decided to keep it as a monument to the victims of the April Uprising of 1876. In 1955 the church in Batak was declared a state museum and soon became one of the most frequently visited historical landmarks in Bulgaria.
HOW TO USE WITH THE STUDENTS
The students definitely have to visit the town of Batak along with the church in order to get to know the town of the most profound antiquity to the present day.
REFERENCE TO THE GUIDELINE
- History and Philosophy of Religions - Christianity
MEDIA RESOURCES
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JPG
ST. NEDELYA CHURCH, BATAKThe ossuary in the church
VIDEOS
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ST. NEDELYA CHURCH, BATAK
The video gives more information about the April Uprising, the massacre and the struggle itself.
LINKS
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ST. NEDELYA CHURCH, BATAK
On the website you can learn more about the Batak massacre, the Uprising in Batak, the church St. Nedelya.
