CHURCH "ST. IVAN RILSKI ”VILLAGE GURKOVO

The church is located in the center of the village of Gurkovo, Botevgrad municipality. It was built in the period from 1900 to 1906. It was painted and discovered by Bishop Kliment Branicki on September 19, 1910. The icons are the work of the artist Georgi Zeljazkov and the Apostle of Christ from Sofia. Every year on November 1, the temple holiday is solemnly celebrated and the saint is celebrated. It is a basilica-type building, single-nave and single-apse. It consists of an elongated body with two domes, a characteristic feature of Orthodox churches in the Byzantine style. The eastern dome is located near the middle of the temple and is maximally lit by windows on all sides. A large chandelier hangs in the middle on a long chain. The west dome is attached to the church and is connected to it by a ladder. In it are hung two bells with different sounds, which ring during worship. The altar is separated from the room for worshipers by a large iconostasis with icons and saints, with a richly carved church door. In the middle is the Last Supper. The characteristic of these paintings is that they are presented in two dimensions. There is a special throne for the bishop in the temple when he comes to visit. In front of the altar are small icons given by the faithful, in front of which candles are lit. The icon “St. John of the Rila Miracle Worker ", who is also the protector of the church. It was declared a cultural monument of architectural and construction character of local significance in 1979.