The monastery “St.St. Constantine and Helena” is located some 10 kilometres north-east of Varna. It is not known when the monastery was founded. Folk tales tell that during the 16th century a monk brotherhood lived here and the founding of the monastery is connected to the miracle icon of the patrons of christianity St. Constantine and St.Helena and the healing spring. Until this day the spring is kept safe and it’s located right behind the holy chair in the chapel. It is said that the prayers of the people that come there receive healing for what they need. Until the middle of the 20th century the church was guarded by an old chapel icon of both saints. 

The earliest written information about the history of the monastery come from the 18th century and are written in the book “Letters from Bulgaria” by the russian traveller Viktor Teplyakov in 1832.

History

During the russian-turkish war of 1828 the monastery was destroyed. A few years afterwards thanks to the efforts of two bishop brothers – Theodosius and Agapius, reconstruction started. The outskirts of the monastery “St.St Constantine and Helena” had a dense old forest which made it hard to reach. The monk quarters were not too crowded. This helped achieve full solitude when practising the christian culture. After the two bishop monks started inhabiting the monastery, the local population started reshaping the surroundings into arable land with their own labour. A part of the income of the agricultural work and the charity of the people of the Kestrich village were used for building churches in the nearby villages. They were also used for school upkeep, helping the poor, etc.

Until the founding of the Bulgarian exarchy in 1870 Varna was the main sitting place of the Greek bishop. The monastery was under the ruling of the Greek patriarchy. Unphased by this fact the monk Theodosius led the services in Bulgarian unless on big holidays. 

After the political change in Bulgaria a battle has been led to return the former land of the monastery to itself again. This battle is led to this day. The monastery is the reason that the resort bears the name “St.St. Constantine and Helena” and is in close proximity to the Golden Sands resort and Aladzha monastery too.

If you wish to visit the “St.St. Constantine and Helena” monastery you can take advantage of My Rent a Car by getting a car of your choosing anywhere from Varna Airport, the centre itself, Golden Sands, St. St. Constantine and Helena, Sunny day or other points within Varna.