Abstract

2021 marks the twentieth anniversary of the death of Ivan Ivanov (1944 – 2001). He is mostly remembered for his excavation of Varna Chalcolithic Necropolis. His achievements as a public figure are, however, not so well known. In the early 1990s, he became one of the founders of European Home („Европейски дом“ in Bulgarian) – a civil association of Varna artists, intellectuals and professionals. Ivan Ivanov was also the initiator of the first pilgrimage of an official delegation from Varna to the Zograf Monastery on Mount Athos in 1992. The event was organised to mark the 180th anniversary of the martyrdom of St. Procopius of Varna. For this occasion, Robert Popov, icon painter and restorer at the Varna Museum of History and Art (now the Varna Regional Museum of History), painted an icon of the saint. It was taken to Mount Athos and donated to the Zograf Monastery by an official delegation of pilgrims, led by Metropolitan Cyril of Varna and Veliki Preslav. The delegation also included Ivan Ivanov, Robert Popov and others. This paper presents archival information about the preparation and implementation of the pilgrimage, as well as a description of the journey written by Ivan Ivanov, which is little known to the general public. The manuscript is part of the “Ivan Ivanov” Fund in the scientific archive of the Varna Regional Museum of History