Visiting Rila Monastery in the Fall. St. John of Rila Cave Hike.

ByMina Coleman Updated on

“If you manage to go through this cave and exit from the other side, all of your sins will be forgiven!”

Rila Monastery is one of the most beautiful journeys one can take, while in Bulgaria. Visiting Rila Monastery in the fall is an experience that transcends description. It must be felt and walked – start here, then book one of the many trips from Sofia and see it for yourself.

I have no idea who told me that popular belief, some decades ago, while I was visiting the Rila monastery and the cave where St. John of Rila lived, high in Rila mountain.

St. John of Rila is one of the most beloved Bulgarian saints. While climbing in and out of a cave has nothing to do with forgiveness of sins, we still do it and bring back home a few steps of the life of a saint.

It is enough for me.

the road leading to Rila Monasery overlooking fall colored hills
On our way to the monastery.
Rila Monastery
Rila monastery. It is a spectacular place to visit, filled with much needed silence.

The relics of St. John of Rila are kept in the large church and uncovered for the people to venerate during services.

Inside Rila MOnastery
The main church altar with the covered relics of St. John of Rila.
The icon of St. John of Rila sign marking the path leading to the cave
Starting the hike towards the cave.
prayer notes stuffed between rocks
The entrance to the cave is filled with prayer and wish notes, written on anything from paper to public transit tickets and shop receipts.
Inside the cave of St. John of Rila
The cave is tiny, with a raised platform, with icons, candles and coins.

Sins and all, we were able to squeeze out of the cave and a couple of hours later, everything was back to “normal” – some school work to complete, dinner, a movie…

It is not that I don’t enjoy these times, I do, I love my family, but the small routines can pile up on top of each other, so perfectly, that there is little space left for silence and prayers.

It is that couch-comfort zone, which we sailed away from, to begin with…

A family photo, while visiting Rila Monastery in the Fall
SV Graceful crew at the cave of St. John of Rila.

I’d like to wrap it up with words, which will last far longer than this blog. It is a prayer/hymn to St. John of Rila:

O saint, equal to the angels,
you were a model of repentance,
an example of mercy,
a standard of comfort and spiritual perfection.
O father John, you lived with prayer, fasting and tears,
so plead with Christ our God for our souls.

Mina is the creator and owner of No Texting and Tacking. She is an award-winning author, a philologist, a registered nurse and a native Bulgarian. She turned into a travel blogger in 2018, when her family of five decided to sail and travel the world.

4 Comments

  1. Gorgeous Mina! Well, they didn’t like the boat at first either, and i hear they are now fans! I just signed up the boys for Canadian school as no word on our visa renewal and time is running out fast – we will have to leave by January 9. We will also be living with the grandparents. This will be a tough transition!

    1. Wow! I know you have been hoping to go back, it must be frustrating and exciting! Living with grandparents is definitely challenging, especially if you have not raised the kids together. Parenting styles clash, schooling styles clash, fun has to be toned down, as well as noise. But the kids will know their family, and, in time, their (other) country. Oh, and we will be visiting!

  2. Thanks for sharing St. John of Rila and your beautiful photos. Praying for your family and miss you at SMOC. Will you celebrate American Thanksgiving this month somehow?

    1. Thank you! I was just dreaming about you last night, before I read your comment; I cannot remember the dream, just that you were in it!
      Anyway, yes, we do plan to celebrate Thanksgiving, and we had a plan to buy a live Turkey from a friend and do everything except the killing ourselves, but the closer it gets, the bigger the chore sounds, so we might be relying on the grocery store 🙂
      We watch Father’s sermons and I always think of SMOC; the kids grew up there, it is such a precious part of our lives!

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