Speaker of Parliament Tsveta Karayancheva attended the water blessing ceremony and retrieval of the holy cross from the waters of Arda river in celebration of Epiphany Day near the medieval St John the Baptist monastery in Kardzhali. The festive liturgy was led by His Eminence Bishop of Plovdiv Nikolay, who blessed the military flags. Tsveta Karayancheva received the parade order of the representative companies from the 68th Special Forces brigade.

The crucifix was retrieved from the waters of Arda river by 15-year old Stanimir Dimov. Boys under 14 dived into a pool. The one who retrieved the cross was Asen Nikolov, 12.

Speaker of Parliament Tsveta Karayancheva addressed the children from the Orthodox Sunday school and wished them good health, good judgment and success.