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GOOD FRIDAY – 2011

On April 22nd 2011- Good Friday before Easter- I was extremely lucky to visit in Bonn – Germany the exciting exhibition “Napoleon und Europa- Traum und Trauma”. In the Exhibition palace of the former German capital and under the patronage of Kanzlerin Merkel and President Sarkozy were assembled the most thrilling pieces of the Bonaparte era: the Rosetta stone plate which helped the decoding of the Egyptian hieroglyphs, Alessandro Volta’s device for the voltaic arc, the original musical score of Beethoven’s 3rd Symphony, the golden necklace that Napoleon presented to Goethe on the occasion of Goethe joining Legion d’Honneur, the first bilingual edition of Code Civil in Germany of 1808 and many more. The visitor cannot help feeling in his soul an excitement similar to the storm which Bonaparte caused throughout Europe in those 20 years. Especially a guy like me whose nation in that legendary and mythical time kept quiet in the harem of history.
After four hours in the exhibition halls and in such a state of mind one can hardly rejoin the green nature, tranquility and felicity of Bonn. I took a taxi to the neighboring Koln- to the famous cathedral which was started at the time of Carl the Great. The day was sunny, about 24 C- almost a summer. The temple was full of nearly a thousand people and the sun granted to the stained glass its real magnificence of colors. A church choir of over 100 singers of all age added its wonderful sound to the service under the high gothic vaults.
The Bishop of Koln started his festive sermon for Christ’s crucifixion. He reminded to the attendees that one of the biggest sins was the escape from and transfer of responsibility. He pointed how Adam excused himself to God blaming Eva whereas Eva claimed it was the snake to blame- for this and not for just an apple they waer banned from Eden. Or Pilatus who washed his hands stating: “I have nothing to do with this- you are responsible”. And how Christ was crucified together with two robbers. The one on the left cross claimed he was innocent and asked Christ to save them while the one on the right cross scolded him and said: ”Only this One between us is innocent but we are justly punished”. To the robber on the right cross who conceded his sin Christ said: ”Today you will be with Me in Heaven”. The Bishop added that the church was also at the cross fоr its sins but hopefully on Christ’s right side. And the choir started singing.
Next day, Saturday, I flew back to Sofia. At the airplane I was welcomed by the Bulgarian newspapers with the prices of eggs, lamb meat, Easter bread, with the latest soft criminal verdict against a new-rich monster and with the “smart speech” of mouldy political marcs. I could not recall when in the last 20 years the Bulgarian Orthodox church had taken any official public stance on whatever moral question of social relevance- for the robbery of national assets, for the KGB files, for the old parents of young emigrants who died in solitude and neighbors later gave those children a bunch of hairs of their beloved but already buried ones etc.? A friend of mine summed it up that the difference between our priests and a herd of sheep was that the ones bleat in black and the others bleat in white but both always the same song as they have in the last 100 years. And it appeared to me that the left cross was the most terrible.

May 2011

Valentin Braykov