The Bulgarian Utopia: About Saints Cyril and Methodius during the Communist Period
The Bulgarian Utopia: About Saints Cyril and Methodius during the Communist Period

Summary/Abstract: The paper raises the question of the functionalization of the figures of Slavic Saints Cyril and Methodius in the terms of the Communist regime in Bulgaria (1944-1989). The special focus is given to the Bulgarian scientific jubilee publications, particularly representative for the period. The aim is to reconstruct the official discourse on the Slavic Enlighteners in connection to the vision of the future (communist) society in the context of the history of ideas. The paper traces both historical and semantic actualizations of their sacred mission.The thesis is that this narrative is the Bulgarian utopia as such, both functionally and structurally, as it shows the Bulgarian way towards the Modernity through the ideas of (the Bulgarian) Revolution, Education and Culture. Utopia seems to be not only a hermeneutical category which helps in rethinking the communist functionalization but also a unique narrative which becomes the Bulgarian project itself.

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