News - USA, New York, Consulate General of the Republic of Bulgaria

The Consulate General in New York hosted a screening of Prof. Evelina Kelbecheva’s documentary film “Debris of an Afternoon”, dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the bombing of the St. Nedelya Cathedral in Sofia. The film, produced with the support of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, presents the exhibition of the same name displayed in front of St. Nedelya Church in Sofia, created in cooperation with the State Archives Agency. On this occasion, the “100 Years St. Nedelya” Foundation and the Platform of European Memory and Conscience organized an international conference titled “Political Terror in Historical Perspective: Origins and Consequences”, excerpts from which are also included in the film.

A week earlier, Prof. Kelbecheva presented the film at the Embassy of Bulgaria in Washington, D.C.

Introducing the event, the Consul General in New York, Angel Angelov, emphasized its academic and commemorative nature and its tribute to the memory of the victims. He highlighted the restoration of the church after the attack and its place within the so-called “Triangle of Tolerance,” which includes the three religious temples in the center of Sofia—the Sofia Synagogue (1909), the Banya Bashi Mosque (built in the 16th century), and the early Christian Orthodox Church of St. Sofia (built in the 4th century).

Following the screening, Prof. Kelbecheva answered numerous questions from the audience, which included former students of hers from the American University in Bulgaria. She is currently in the United States at the invitation of the American Research Center in Bulgaria, which is headquartered in both Bulgaria and the U.S., with the support of Nasya and Aaron Owens.

The American Research Center – Sofia Foundation supports the research of American scholars and students in the humanities across all periods of Bulgarian and European history, promotes Bulgarian-American academic cooperation, and fosters the professional development of the younger generation of Bulgarian researchers in these fields.

Prof. Kelbecheva is an honorary professor at the American University in Bulgaria. She has been a Fulbright scholar of the Bulgarian-American Fulbright Commission for Educational Exchange and has taught at prestigious universities in the United States and Europe. Her primary academic interests and publications focus on the social and cultural history of Europe and Bulgaria.