Krastova gora

Wellkome to “Varnentsi” Family Hotel – village Borovo

The Sacred Cross Forest — A Place of Faith and Healing

The Cross Forest (Krastova Gora) is one of the most significant Bulgarian Orthodox sanctuaries. Though surrounded by questions, legends, and ongoing discussions, it remains a place where many believe God’s grace is deeply felt.

For generations, fathers have passed down stories of the healing powers of the cross built on the hill above Borovo village, where countless pilgrims have found peace, healing, and spiritual renewal.

Historical documents reveal that even Byzantine chroniclers referred to the Rhodopes as “Magna Silva Bulgarica” — The Holy Bulgarian Forest. No place better reflects that description than Cross Forest, rising to 1,545 meters above sea level, surrounded by ancient woods and rugged mountain ridges.

Here, the faithful can reflect on all that the Bulgarian Orthodox Church has preserved through centuries of trials and triumphs.
Periods of doubt and hardship were seen not as abandonment, but as tests of the Christian spirit — and it is that unshakable faith that continues to draw pilgrims from across the country.

Visitors come to drink from the holy spring, to pray, and to seek the wisdom of the Gospel in a sacred space filled with hope, love, and divine presence.
As Scripture says:

“Here we have no lasting city, but we seek the one that is to come.”
— Hebrews 13:14

Historical Roots and Monastic Legacy

In 1083, during the Byzantine rule of Bulgaria (1018–1185), the Georgian noble Gregory Bakuriani, a high official in the empire, founded the Bachkovo Monastery.
He endowed it with vast lands and populated it with 50 monks from Georgia, creating a monastic law and a theological school. Prominent Georgian scholars like Joan Petritzi, Ikaltoeli, and Arsen taught there.

In a preserved document titled “To the Sacred Treasures and Honest Holy Icons”, Bakuriani wrote:

“I gave the monastery two icons made of golden alloy, and relics from the Holy Cross of Christ. The larger icon was named The Holy Transfiguration, and the smaller one The Holy Virgin.”

The monastery law prohibited married Georgians from joining the brotherhood. To support its needs, a nearby village called Ivertze was established — a fertile area with rich pastures, forests, and meadows.

Around the area known today as Cross Forest (also called Gradishte, meaning “ancient stronghold”), the monastery established dairy farms and built large monastic buildings, including a church dedicated to the Holy Trinity.
The landscape itself, with its natural formation in the shape of a cross, only added to the spiritual symbolism of the site.

Cross Forest – A Sacred Site Through Centuries of Faith and Turmoil

Until the end of the 12th century, the monastic communities of Bachkovo and Troitski Monasteries were sustained primarily through new Georgian recruits.
But in 1393, when Bulgaria fell under Ottoman rule, the Greek clergy took control of Bachkovo Monastery.
What Gregory Bakuriani had feared most became reality:
the remaining Georgian monks were expelled, the tomb of Gregory and Abasiy Bakuriani in the main church was destroyed, and every trace of the village of Ivertze was erased.

In the early 15th century, a wave of violence swept through this part of the Rhodope Mountains.
Dzhadit Ali Pasha and his forces invaded along the Chaia River and the Lacki Gorge, leaving behind destruction, looting, and bloodshed.
The monks of Cross Forest, sensing danger, buried sacred relics — including a holy icon, remains of Christ’s cross, and other spiritual treasures — deep within the earth to protect them.

Tragically, the monastery was raided and burned, the monks were martyred, and the monastery’s herds were taken.
Nearby villages — Dryanovo, Telitsa, Mostovo, Dzhurkovo, and others — were forced under Islamic rule, with imams installed to convert the local population by force.
Yet many Bulgarian Muslims in these areas retained their language, traditions, folklore, and their connection to Cross Forest.
They continued to honor the Holy Trinity, participate in Cross Day liturgies, and offer sacrificial rites at the sacred site — a testament to the enduring spiritual power of the place.

The Revival of Cross Forest

In 1933, a humble prophet named Jordan Stoichev Drenkov arrived in the Rhodope region.
Gifted with a spiritual calling and a deep understanding of Scripture, he taught people how to live with wisdom and faith.
He was known for his ability to identify holy places, and when he heard locals in Borovo speak of an area called “The Cross”, he felt compelled to visit.

With God’s guidance, Brother Yordancho — as the locals came to call him — discovered a powerful spiritual energy emanating from beneath the hill.
He also found relics and traces of a once-grand monastery.
He began to send sick and suffering people to spend the night at the site, and many experienced healing through prayer, faith, and divine grace.