US Awards Preservation Grant for Bulgaria's Boboshevo Church

US Ambassador James Warlick (M) travelled to the town of Boboshevo, Kyustendil region, to announce the awarding of a USD 38,790 grant from the United States Government for the conservation and restoration of the 11th century church there. Photo by US Emba

US Ambassador James Warlick announced on Wednesday the awarding of a USD 38,790 grant from the United States government for the conservation and restoration of the 11th century church of St. Todor in the town of Boboshevo, Kyustendil region.

The Director of the Ministry of Culture's Directorate for Cultural Policy, Deyana Danailova, and the Mayor of Boboshevo, Krum Marinov, accompanied Ambassador Warlick as he announced the grant in front of St. Todor Church on August 1, 2012.

"We are honored that we can play a role in helping preserve this cultural treasure through the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation. During my time as Ambassador, I've been privileged to visit many of Bulgaria's cultural sites and have developed a deep interest in and respect for this country's rich cultural heritage," said Ambassador Warlick.

In his words the grant will help to fund the restoration of a cultural gem and will deepen the bond between our two countries.

The ambassador pointed out that the Church of St. Todor was built at the beginning of the 11th century, and is one of the few remaining religious monuments dating from the First Bulgarian Kingdom.

The church also contains some rare and beautiful frescoes, which date from the 14th century.

This conservation of St. Todor Church is the sixth cultural preservation project in Bulgaria to be carried out under the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation (AFCP) in the past 10 years.

AFCP was created by the United States Government in 2001 to help preserve cultural heritage around the world.

Since 2001, AFCP has awarded USD 36 million in grants for more than 700 cultural heritage protection projects in over 120 countries.  AFCP grants to Bulgarian cultural sites have totaled USD 194,380 so far.

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