The Monastery of Sts. Constantine and Helena, Saints Constantine and Helena

The Monastery of Sts. Constantine and Helena is situated in the very bosom of the seaside resort bearing the same name - a blessed small oasis of tranquility, lush greenery, and the chatter of nearby spring and stream waters; a tiny hush island in the hub of life, joyful clamor and multilingual speech.

Nobody can tell for sure when exactly the monastery was built, but legends have it that there existed a monastic fraternity here as early as 16th c. One of the legends tells of how local folk found an icon of the saints Constantine and Helena out of a shipwreck in the close vicinity of the present-day monastery - an icon which later proved wonder-working and inspired pious people to build a place of worship and establish a monastery next to it, in a place of immediate proximity of where the icon had been found. Crowds of believers and worshippers came here to pray and find forgiveness, help, and cure for their illnesses and sufferings. It is how Emperor Constantine the Great and his mother Helena, the saints of the miraculous icon, became patrons of the newly-founded monastery.

The latter was destroyed during the Russo-Turkish War of 1828 - 1829. A few years later, thanks to the noble efforts of two brothers from Turnovo - the hi-eromonks Theodosius and Agapius Kan-tardzhiev, and local volunteers, the mon¬astery building was restored.