The “Prof. Lyubomir Andreychin” Institute of the Bulgarian Language at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
Press release
Over 45 scholars from six countries attend a conference on the Bessarabian and Banat Bulgarians in Sofia
From 23 to 25 October 2026, Hall 1 at Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski” will host the First International Academic Conference “Bessarabian and Banat Bulgarians in a Historical and Contemporary Context: Language, Cultural Memory, Identity”. The event is organised by the “Prof. Lyubomir Andreychin” Institute of the Bulgarian Language – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and the Department of Cyril and Methodius Studies at Sofia University, as part of a project funded by the Scientific Research Fund. The project is led by Senior Assistant Professor Dr Tatiana Braga, and the team includes Dr Svetlana Karadzova (Institute of Literature – BAS) and Dr Olga Kolot.
The programme features 37 papers by 46 scholars from Bulgaria, Ukraine, Romania, Moldova, Hungary and Italy. The topics cover history, language, onomastics, folklore, religious memory and the contemporary challenges facing the identity of the two communities.
Accompanying events:
On 23 October:
- At 4.30 pm, there will be a presentation of the monograph *The Names of the Bulgarians in the Bolhrad Region (Southern Bessarabia). Part I. The Identity of the Bessarabian Bulgarians between Language, History and Migration* by Tatyana Braga.
- At 6.00 pm, the exhibition ‘Return’, curated by Ivan Vasilchin, will open. It is dedicated to the idea of a return to one’s roots and to the connections between Bulgarians from Banat and Bessarabia. Artists from Bulgaria, Romania and Moldova are taking part: Ivan Vasilchin (Star Beshenov, Romania), Miki Velchev (Timișoara, Romania), Kiril and Milkana Meskin (Pleven), Nina Radovanova (Sofia), Galina Sintsova (Sofia, Moldova) and Natalia Darmancheva (Sofia).
The conference is being held with the financial support of the Scientific Research Fund (contract No. KP-06-M 100/1).
Appendix: the conference programme
P R O G R A M M E
Hall 1, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”
Sofia, 23 – 25 October 2026,
With the financial support of the Scientific Research Fund under contract No. KP-06-M 100/1 of 10 December 2025.
23 OCTOBER 2026 (Friday)
Hall 1, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”
8:30 – 9:00 Registration of participants
9:00 – 10:00 Official opening of the conference. Welcome addresses
SECTION „BULGARIAN HISTORICAL COMMUNITIES IN A GLOBAL CONTEXT“
10:00 – 11:00
Moderator: Assist. Prof. Dr. Tatyana Braga
10:00 – 10:15 MARGARET DIMITROVA (Sofia University ‘St Clement of Ohrid’) – Baskoy Copy of “Istoriya slavenobolgarskaya”
10:15 – 10:30 KRISTINA MENHART (L. Jótvös University of Budapest, Hungary) – The Bulgarian Orthodox Church Community in Hungary – Historical Role and Contemporary Perspectives
10:30 – 10:45 MARIA BRUS (Vasyl Stefanyk Carpathian National University, Ivano-Frankivsk, Ukraine)– Bulgarian-Ukrainian Language Contacts: From the Emergence of Literacy to the First Translated Works
10:45 – 11:00 NICOLAE MARKOV (Timiș County Library, Romania)– The Fate of the Bulgarians of Modoș: From Migration to Integration
11:00 – 11:15 Discussion
11:15 – 11:45 Coffee break
SECTION „BESSARABIA AND BANAT: MIGRATION AND COMMUNITY IDENTITY“
11:45 – 12:45
Moderator: Dr. Svetlana Karadzhova
11:45 – 12:00 IANCU-CONSTANTIN BERCEANU (The Association for Banat Culture, Romania) – Topophilia and Identity Preservation – Case Study of Catholic Bulgarians from Banat
12:00 – 12:15 KENTA SUGAI (Hokkaido University, Japan) – Bulgarian as a Minority Language in Public Space: Analysis of the Linguistic Landscape in the Republic of Moldova
12:15 – 12:30 ALLA ROMANCHENKO, DARINA STOYANOVA (I. I. Mechnikov Odessa National University, Ukraine)– Language as a Marker of Ethnic Identity: Linguodidactic Mechanisms for Preserving Continuity in the Conditions of Diaspora
12:30 – 12:45 BONO CUCALAN (Mayor of Dudestii Vechi, Romania) – Sustainable Development and Identity Preservation in a Globalized World: Economic Innovations and European Projects in Dudeștii Vechi (Romanian Banat)
12:45 – 13:00 Discussion
13:00 – 14:00 Lunch break
SECTION „HISTORY, WRITTEN HERITAGE AND POPULAR MEMORY OF THE BULGARIANS“
14:00 – 14:45
Moderator: Prof. Andrey Boyadzhiev
14:00 – 14:15 NICOLETA CIOCANI (Radio Timișoara, Romania) – The Bulgarian Section of Radio Timișoara – Guardian of Community Memory
14:15 – 14:30 ELENA VODINCHAR (Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with the Ethnographic Museum – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences) – The Menaion from the ‘Otets Paisiy – 1876’ Community Cultural Center (Chitalishte) in the Town of Brezovo: Cultural Value and Memory of the Bulgarians in Bessarabia
14:30 – 14:45 MARIYANA TSIBRANSKA-KOSTOVA, KALINA MICHEVA-PEICHEVA, MARCO SCARPA (Institute of the Bulgarian Language – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences; University of Messina, Italy)– Catholic Missionaries as Healers in the Bulgarian Lands under Ottoman Rule in the First Half of the 19th Century
14:45 – 15:00 Discussion
15:00 – 15:20 Coffee break
SECTION „BESSARABIA: IDENTITY, DEMOGRAPHY AND HISTORICAL MEMORY“
15:20 – 16:05
Moderator: Dr. Nikolay Markov
15:20 – 15:35 SVETLANA KOCH, YULIA UZUN (Odesa National University, Ukraine)– The Identity of the Bessarabian Bulgarian Diaspora in the Context of Security Challenges and the Securitization of Border Space
15:35 – 15:50 ALEXANDER GANCHEV (State University of Intellectual Technologies and Communications, Odessa, Ukraine) – Average Marriage Age Among the Bulgarians in Bessarabia from the 19th to the Early 21st Century: Stability and Change
15:50 – 16:05 KALINA KUNEVA, BOZHIDARA DIMOVA, ANDREY BOYADZIEV (Sofia University ‘St Clement of Ohrid’)– Glasnik: A Website with Research Data on Banat and Bessarabia
16:05 – 16:20 Discussion
16:30 – 17:30
Book Presentation. Tatyana Braga, The Names of the Bulgarians in the Bolgrad Region (Southern Bessarabia). Part I. The Identity of the Bessarabian Bulgarians Between Language, History, and Migration. The book is supported by the Publishing Activities Council under the Governing Board of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences and funded under the Programme for the Study of the Bulgarian Diaspora Abroad
18:00 – 18:30 Opening of the Exhibition “Zavrashtane” (Return)
The theme of the event “Zavrashtane” (Return) aims to emphasize the idea of returning to one’s roots, as well as rediscovering and strengthening the ties between the Bulgarians of Banat and the Bulgarians of Bessarabia
Ivan Vasilchin – Dudeștii Vechi, Romania
Miki Velchov – Timișoara, Romania
Kiril Meskin – Pleven, Bulgaria
Milkana Meskin – Pleven, Bulgaria
Nina Radovanova – Sofia, Bulgaria
Galina Sintsova – Sofia – Moldova
Natalia Darmancheva – Sofia, Bulgaria
24 OCTOBER 2026 (SATURDAY)
Hall 1, Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”
SECTION „LANGUAGE, LITERATURE AND MEDIA OF THE CATHOLIC BULGARIANS“
9:30 – 10:30
Moderator: Prof. Margaret Dimitrova
9:30 – 9:45 MAGDALENA ABADJIEVA, LUCA BARBIERI (Institute of the Bulgarian Language – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences; Opera del Vocabolario Italiano) – The Bulgarian-Italian Grammar of Father Stefan Bragalya: Hypotheses and Preliminary Observations
9:45 – 10:00 YAVOR IVANOV (Institute of the Bulgarian Language – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences; St Cyril and St Methodius National Library) – Names of Professions and Positions in the Banat Stories of Yaku Ronkov
10:00 – 10:15 EVGENIA TARLEVA (Bulgarian community in the Republic of Moldova)– The Banat Bulgarians and the Bulgarians of Moldova
10:15 – 10:30 SVETLANA KARADZHOVA (Institute of Literature – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences)
– Gabriel Cociuba (Boris Groškva) and His Diaries: Memory in the Interstices of Meaning
10:30 – 10:45 Discussion
10:45 – 11:15 Coffee break
SECTION „TRADITIONS, RELIGION AND CULTURAL MEMORY“
11:15 – 12:15
Moderator: Assoc. Prof. Krisztina Menyhart
11:15 – 11:30 GALIN GEORGIEV, MILENA MARINOVA (Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with the Ethnographic Museum – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences) – Manifestations of the ‘Old Matchmaker’ (starosvatstvo) Custom among the Bessarabian and Banat Bulgarians
11:30 – 11:45 GALINA STOYANOVA (I. I. Mechnikov Odessa National University, Ukraine) – Archaic Elements of Birth and Funeral Rites among the Bessarabian Bulgarians in the Context of Diaspora Cultural Memory
11:45 – 12:00 PAVEL VELCIOV (‘Yaku Ronkov’ Community Centre, Star Beshenov, Romania) – Communication through Culinary Traditions – The Bulgarians in Banat (Based on the Experience of the Community Center in Dudeștii Vechi)
12:00 – 12:15 VLADISLAVA SPASOVA (Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with the Ethnographic Museum – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences) – The ‘Bessarabian Amalgam’ of National-Revival Spirit and Religious Affiliation: A Vital Code for the Survival of the Bulgarian Diaspora in Moldova
12:15 – 12:30 Discussion
12:30 – 13:45 Lunch break
SECTION „EDUCATION, LANGUAGE AND CULTURAL POLICIES“
13:45 – 14:30
Moderator: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Svetlana Georgieva
13:45 – 14:00 NATALIA MOSKOVCHUK (State University of Intellectual Technologies and Communications, Odessa, Ukraine) – – The Formation of Communicative Competence among Primary School Students Taught in the Languages of National Minorities
14:00 – 14:15 VALENTINA KOVALZHIU (University of National and World Economy, Sofia) – Comparative Analysis of the Policies of Ukraine and Moldova towards the Bulgarian Ethnic Minorities in the Field of Culture
14:15 – 14:30 YOVKA TISHEVA, MARINA JONOVA (Sofia University ‘St Clement of Ohrid’)– Bulgarian Language Island in Serbian Banat – Sustainability and Linguistic Innovations
14:30 – 14:45 Discussion
14:45 – 15:20 Coffee break
SECTION „ONOMASTICS, TOPONYMY AND LEXIS“
15:20 – 16:20
Moderator: Assoc. Prof. Dr. Galin Georgiev
15:20 – 15:35 SVETLANA GEORGIEVA (Institute of the Bulgarian Language – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences; I. I. Mechnikov Odessa National University, Ukraine)– Male Personal Names in the Anthroponymicon of the Village of Kamchik (Ukraine) in the Light of Linguistic Archaeology
15:35 – 15:50 OLGA KOLOT (Institute of the Bulgarian Language – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences) – Vocabulary of the Female Ritual Costume in the Bulgarian Dialect of the Village of Ternivka, Mykolaiv Region (Ukraine)
15:50 – 16:05 TATYANA BRAGA (Institute of the Bulgarian Language – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences) – Names and Identity of the Bessarabian Bulgarians in Bolgrad in the 19th Century (Based on Archival Documents)
16:05 – 16:20 Discussion
25 OCTOBER 2026 (SUNDAY)
10:00 – 10:15 Connection test with online participants
SECTION „THE MEMORY OF THE CATHOLIC BULGARIANS IN ROMANIA: DOCUMENTS, SONGS AND DRESS“
10:15 – 11:15
Moderator:
10:15 – 10:30 GABRIELA MITU BULAREANU (independent researcher, Romania) – Linguistic Borrowing in Banat Bulgarian Festive Attire: A Socio-Historical Perspective
10:30 – 10:45 MARIUS OANȚĂ (independent researcher, Romania) – The Bulgarian Catholic Community in Cioplea in the Memorials of Archbishop Raymund Netzhammer (19th–20th Centuries)
10:45 – 11:00 CĂTĂLIN GRIGORE (University of Bucharest, Romania) – Preserving the Pavlikean Voice: A Comparative Linguistic and Literary Analysis of Folklore across Two Eras
11:00 – 11:15 VENETA YANKOVA (University of Bucharest; Cyril and Methodius Research Centre – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences) – ‘Who Are Strangers in Their Home’ (Hungarian Testimony from 1884 on the Re-emigration of the Banat Bulgarians)
11:15 – 11:30 Discussion
SECTION „BESSARABIA AND TAVRIA: LANGUAGE, EDUCATION AND CULTURAL MEMORY“
11:30 – 13:00
Moderator: Assist. Prof. Dr. Olga Kolot
11:30 – 11:45 NADEZDA GAIDARJI (Angel Kanchev University of Ruse – Taraclia Branch, Republic of Moldova) – Voices from the Past, Messages for the Future: Grandmothers’ Songs from Bessarabia in Dialogue with Bulgarian Literary Classics
11:45 – 12:00 MARIA SMIRNOVA (Doctoral School, State University of Moldova)– School Education in the Bulgarian Settlements of Bessarabia in the Second Half of the 19th Century (Based on Materials from the ‘Kishinev Diocesan Gazette’)
12:00 – 12:15 OLGA NOVAK (I. I. Mechnikov Odessa National University, Ukraine)– The Bilingual Linguistic Personality in Cognitive Perspective (Based on Field Observations of the Linguistic Behavior of Bessarabian Bulgarians)
12:15 – 12:30 IRINA GANCHEVA-CHURSA (Zaporizhzhia Regional Society for Bulgarian Culture, Ukraine) – The Ukrainian-Bulgarian ‘Lichtarik’ Radiance
12:30 – 12:45 KRASIMIRA KOLEVA (Bogdan Khmelnitsky Melitopol State Pedagogical University – Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine)– The Culture of Bulgarians in Bessarabia as a National Treasure of Ukraine
12:45 – 13:00 SERGEY PACHEV (Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with the Ethnographic Museum – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences) – The Toponymy of Bulgarian Villages in Bessarabia and Tavria as a Marker of Genetic Ties
13:00 – 13:15 Discussion
Financially supported by the Bulgarian National Science Fund under contract No. КП-06-М 100/1 dated 10.12.2025. The Fund is not responsible for the content of the papers presented at the scientific forum, nor for the content of the advertising and other materials for the event.
List of Participants
Prof. Alexander Ganchev, PhD in Economics. State University of Intellectual Technologies and Communications, Odessa, Ukraine, Alexander_Ganchev@yahoo.com
Prof. Alla Romanchenko, PhD in Philosophy. I. I. Mechnikov Odessa National University, Ukraine, apromanchenko@ukr.net
Prof. Dr Andrey Boyadzhiev. Sofia University ‘St Kliment Ohridski’, aboy@uni-sofia.bg
Student Bozhidara Dimova. Sofia University ‘St Kliment Ohridski’, majoring in ‘Bulgarian Philology’, bozidaradimova180@gmail.com
PhD student Valentina Kovaljiu. University of National and World Economy, Sofia, valentina.kovalzhiu@abv.bg
Associate Professor Veneta Yankova, PhD. University of Bucharest; Cyril and Methodius Research Centre – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, veneta_yankova@abv.bg
Dr Vladislava Spasova. Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with the Ethnographic Museum – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, semiramissia@yahoo.com
Associate Professor Galin Georgiev, PhD. Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with the Ethnographic Museum – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, etnologia@mail.bg
Associate Professor Galina Stoyanova, PhD candidate in History. I. I. Mechnikov Odessa National University, Ukraine, gzstoyanova@gmail.com
Dr Darina Stoyanova. I. I. Mechnikov Odessa National University, Ukraine, d.stoianova@onu.edu.ua
Evgenia Tarleva, MA. Bulgarian Community in the Republic of Moldova, evgheniatt@gmail.com
Senior Assistant Professor Dr Elena Vodinchar. Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with the Ethnographic Museum – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, elena.vodinchar@iefem.bas.bg
Irina Gancheva-Chursa, MA. Zaporizhzhia Regional Society for Bulgarian Culture, Ukraine, 71irina19@gmail.com
Prof. Dr Yovka Tisheva. Sofia University “St Kliment Ohridski”, tisheva@uni-sofia.bg
Kalinia Kuneva, student. Sofia University “St. Kliment Ohridski”, majoring in “Bulgarian Philology”, kalinakuneva8@gmail.com
Assoc. Prof. Dr Kalina Micheva-Peicheva. “Prof. Lyubomir Andreychin” Institute of the Bulgarian Language – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences; k.micheva@gmail.com
Dr Krasimira Koleva. Lecturer in Bulgarian Language, Literature and Culture at the Melitopol State Pedagogical University “Bogdan Khmelnitsky” – Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine k.koleva@shu.bg
Associate Professor Kristina Menhart. Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest, Hungary, menyhart.krisztina@btk.elte.hu
Associate Professor Dr Magdalena Abadzhieva. “Prof. Lyubomir Andreychin” Institute of the Bulgarian Language – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, msabadzhieva@gmail.com
Prof. Dr Margaret Dimitrova. Sofia University “St Kliment Ohridski”, marg@slav.unisofia.bg
Assoc. Prof. Dr Marina Dzhonova. Sofia University “St Kliment Ohridski”, djonova@slav.uni-sofia.bg
Prof. Dr Maria Brus. Carpathian National University “V. Stefanik”, Ukraine, mariia.brus@cnu.edu.ua
Maria Smirnova, MA, PhD. Doctoral School, State University of Moldova, smirnova.maria@taraclia.edu.md
Prof. Mariana Tsibranska-Kostova, PhD. “Prof. Lyubomir Andreychin” Institute of the Bulgarian Language – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, tzibran@ibl.bas.bg
Senior Lecturer Dr Milena Marinova. Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with the Ethnographic Museum – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, etnologia@mail.bg
Senior Lecturer Dr Nadezhda Gaydarji. Angel Kanchev University of Ruse – Taraclia Branch, Republic of Moldova, ngaydarzhi@uni-ruse.bg
Associate Professor Natalia Moskovchuk, PhD candidate in Pedagogical Sciences. State University of Intellectual Technologies and Communications, Odessa, Ukraine, moskovchuknata85@gmail.com
Ms Nikolet Ciocani. Radio Timișoara, Romania, eticiocani@yahoo.com
Senior Lecturer Dr Olga Kolot. ‘Prof. Lyubomir Andreychin’ Institute of the Bulgarian Language – Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, Kolotol2811@gmail.com
Associate Professor Olga Novak, PhD candidate in Philology. I. I. Mechnikov Odessa National University, Ukraine, olga.novak@onu.edu.ua
Senior Lecturer Dr / Associate Professor Dr Svetlana Georgieva. “Prof. Lyubomir Andreychin” Institute of the Bulgarian Language – BAS; “I. I. Mechnikov” Odessa National University, sgeorgijevamititel@gmail.com
Dr Svetlana Karadjova. Institute of Literature – BAS, svetlana.karadzhova@gmail.com
Prof. Dr Svetlana Koch. I. I. Mechnikov Odessa National University, Ukraine, svetlana.v.koch@gmail.com
Assoc. Prof. Dr Sergei Pachev. Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Studies with the Ethnographic Museum – BAS, psergej69@abv.bg
Senior Assistant Professor Dr Tatyana Braga. “Prof. Lyubomir Andreychin” Institute of the Bulgarian Language – BAS, bragakarakash@gmail.com
Prof. Dr Yulia Uzun. I. I. Mechnikov Odessa National University, Ukraine, uv_uzun@onu.edu.ua
Dr Yavor Ivanov. “Prof. Lyubomir Andreychin” Institute of the Bulgarian Language – BAS / “Sts Cyril and Methodius” National Library, ivanov.popa@gmail.com
Eng. Bono Cucalan. Mayor of the municipality of Dudești Veci, Romania, bcucalan@gmail.com
PhD Cătălin Grigore. University of Bucharest, Romania, grigorecatalin@yahoo.com
Gabriela Mitu Bulareanu. Independent researcher, Romania, mitu_gabriela@yahoo.com
PhD Iancu-Constantin Berceanu. The Association for Banat Culture, Romania, meteaic@gmail.com
Assoc. Prof., PhD Kenta Sugai. Hokkaido University, Japan, ksugai1227@hotmail.com
Prof. Luca Barbieri. Opera del Vocabolario Italiano, luca.barbieri@cnr.it
PhD Marius Oanță. Independent researcher, Romania, mariusu1981@gmail.com
PhD Nicolae Markov. ‘Sorin Titel’ Timiș County Library, Romania, nickmarkov@gmail.com
Pavel Velciov. ‘Yaku Ronkov’ Community Centre, Star Beșenov, Romania, velciovpavel.dv@gmail.com
Assoc. Prof. Marco Scarpa. University of Messina, Italy, marscarpa@unime.it
Photo: The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences (source: The Bulgarian Academy of Sciences)
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