On Tuesday in Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria, priests led a candlelit church ceremony in which jars of honey were arranged on tables shaped like a cross, awaiting blessing as part of the Orthodox celebration of St. Haralambos. Worshippers filled the church and lit candles on the honey, with incense and candlelight marking the prayers dedicated to the patron saint of beekeepers.
The ceremony at the Church of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary drew local beekeepers and others who said the blessing reflects practical concerns for their hives and their livelihoods. Several attendees described a shared worry that pesticides, pollution and climate change could harm bee populations and make it harder for beekeepers to maintain their numbers.
Rumen Gavrilov, a 69-year-old beekeeper who has attended every prayer in honor of St. Haralambos, told the Associated Press, “Those who consume the blessed and consecrated honey are given health, not only for themselves, but also for their bees.” Gavrilov’s remarks linked the religious ritual to a belief that the blessed honey benefits both people and the insects that produce it.
Beekeeping is described as a long-standing tradition in Bulgaria, and the people who tend bees are widely respected in the country. Even so, the church service underscored how beekeepers view current environmental pressures as threats to their work, with pesticides and other factors raised alongside climate change.
St. Haralambos is also known as the “Lord of All Diseases,” a figure celebrated in the Orthodox calendar for miraculous healings and unwavering faith. Feb. 10 is the only day in the Orthodox church year when honey is blessed with a special prayer after the liturgy, according to the Associated Press report.