A lesson in continuity: Passing on faith far from home

For Orthodox Bulgarians living abroad, one of the greatest challenges is passing on to their children a love for Bulgaria and everything it represents - faith, language, history, culture and traditions. This becomes even harder when children are raised in another country, in a different linguistic, cultural and often religious setting, sometimes in a mixed family.

Maria Marinova was born in Sofia in 1985, with family roots in Botevgrad. She attended a language high school in Pravets before going on to study at Sofia University, where she earned a degree in Public Administration and a master’s in European Integration. She later worked in Bulgaria’s state administration. She met her husband, Giovanni, in London, and they have now been married for ten years, raising two daughters aged seven and five.

Maria has lived in Italy for more than a decade. We meet her at the Bulgarian church in Milan, where she and her husband were married in the Orthodox rite. Their daughters were also baptized there and were present at the Divine Liturgy with the Bulgarian Orthodox parish “St. Ambrose of Milan” when the Bridge of Faith podcast team visited the community.

Maria’s connection to the Orthodox faith began in childhood, guided by her grandmother, also named Maria, who came from a family of priests in the village of Osikovitsa near Pravets. It was her grandmother who first took her to church and gently guided her in the Orthodox faith.

From that small village, through the churches of Sofia, and now to the Bulgarian Orthodox parish in Milan, this quiet legacy of faith continues. Today, it lives on in the prayers of Maria’s daughters before the icons in their church in Italy.

But what does the Church mean in her daily life, far from home?

“It wasn’t difficult to find my place, because I was already involved in church life in Sofia,” Maria says. “I simply came to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church here in Milan. What does it mean to me? It is my second home, the house of the Lord. This is where I got married, where my daughters were baptised, and where I feel close not only to God, but also to Bulgaria.”

As a teenager in Sofia, Maria was part of an Orthodox youth group, where young people met to talk about faith and take part in charitable work. Years later in Milan, she reflects on what the Bulgarian parish means to her:

“Here we form real, lasting friendships. We support each other and stay in touch outside the church as well. These bonds are strong because they are rooted in faith. Is it harder to live your faith here? In some ways, yes. We don’t have churches on every corner like in Bulgaria. Sometimes there’s no one to chant during the Divine Liturgy, so we step in - even without much experience. Services are held only on Sundays, not during the week. There is no other Bulgarian Orthodox church in northern or central Italy apart from Milan. So yes, it can be more difficult - but the grace is the same, and it is strong.”

Today, Maria lives in Italy but remains deeply connected to Bulgaria. Her story shows that a sense of belonging does not end at national borders, and that even far from home, roots can remain strong when nurtured with faith and passed on to the next generation.

In the heart of Milan, amid the everyday hustle and bustle, Maria Marinova is creating a spiritual abode for her children, rooted in Bulgarian tradition. When her daughters step into the Bulgarian church, they already have a sense of who they are. Through the Eucharist at “St. Ambrose of Milan” and the shared life of the community, she is not only raising her children, she is helping them maintain a lasting connection to Bulgaria, wherever life may take them.

Editor: E. Karkalanova