Календарните превъплащения на Света Елена
Calendar Reincarnations of St Helena

Summary/Abstract: The author follows the evolution and spread of the traditional cult for St Helena in the Bulgarian lands. In Southern Bulgaria, St Helena is part of a well-knit couple of twins with St Constantine and their feast day is canonically celebrated on May 21. In the same region, St Helena is honoured as a solar deity, as patroness of hailstorms and the dances of the nestinarki/girls on live embers. In the region of the Balkan Range, the cult for St Helena is associated with the cult for the two twin saints Peter and Paul, and further North — with the cult for the heavenly patron of thunders, lightnings and rains, St Elijah. St Helena is interpreted here as a sister of Peter, Paul and Elijah and is honoured as giving protection against disease. The most interesting variant of the holy quartet has been registered in the region of Provadia, where St Helena is a sister of the saints Varvara, Sava and Nicholas and her feast day is on December 7. The saint here is a patroness of children, protecting them from disease and, specifically, from measles. Notwithstanding the calendar variants of celebration of St Helena, they invariably present reflections of an archaic myth of twins.

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