Bulgaria could become the first EU member state to feature a national saint as a motif on regular euro coins. The patron saint of the Bulgarians, Ivan Rilski, will appear on the 1 euro coin and the monk Paissi from Hilandar will appear on the 2 euro coin.
The Bulgarian National Bank announced this after completing the process of coordination and approval of the coin designs, as reported by the portal “katholisch.de”. The two depicted are saints of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. The Bulgarian government aims for the country to join the eurozone in 2025. The introduction of the euro, which was already planned for 2024, had to be postponed due to high inflation.
Ivan Rilski (876 to 946) was the first Bulgarian hermit and founded the country’s largest monastery in the Rila Mountains. Since 1999 it has been depicted on the 1 lew coin, which was valid until the introduction of the euro. Paissi von Hilandar (1722 to 1773) is considered his country’s first historian and a pioneer of the Bulgarian National Revival of the 18th and 19th centuries. The coin depicts Ivan with a habit, cross and halo; Paisi is not recognizable as a monk or saint. The planned 2 euro coin also bears the inscription “God save Bulgaria”.
The EU approved drafts in early February
In early February, the Council of the European Union approved the designs for the coins after receiving no objections from the eurozone EU member states. Coin designs with Christian motifs were previously only available on commemorative coins, but were also met with reservations.
In 2013, Slovakia was only able to issue a commemorative 2 euro coin with the Slavic apostles Cyril and Methodius after a delay, because France and Greece, among others, had objected to the crosses and halos in the motif. Ultimately, the originally planned design could take shape.
The same year, the European Commission rejected the planned depiction of Christ as Pantocrator (which means ruler of the world and is a name for God, primarily believed since early Christianity to mean Jesus Christ; note) on Andorran coins . On the other hand, in 2013 the Vatican also released a 2 euro coin with the statue of Christ into circulation on the occasion of World Youth Day in Rio.
No criteria for images on coins
The objections to the coins from Andorra and Slovakia were based on violations of the principle of religious neutrality. The procedure for approving EU coins does not set substantive criteria, but gives EU member states the opportunity to raise justified objections.
The only other national saint on the euro coins is Saint Marinus of Rimini, who is depicted on the 20 cent coins from San Marino. San Marino belongs to the eurozone, but is not a member of the EU.
The Vatican coins depicting Pope John Paul II (1978 to 2005) circulated during his lifetime and before his canonization are still valid. Religious motifs and buildings, as well as saints, can be found on various commemorative and collectible coins, including the Apostle Paul (Vatican, 2 euros) or the Irish Apostle Brendan (Ireland, 10 euros).
Source: Krone
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