The government granted almost BGN 3.5 million in financial assistance for the completion of the renovation and reconstruction works of the eastern wing of the Zografou Monastery in Mount Athosthe Acting Minister of Culture Velislav Minekov announced today during the briefing to the Cabinet, orthodoxianewsagency informs.

The Bulgarian official stated that the funding was long overdue because after the fire in the east wing all that was being done was hearsay. The issue of restoration and maintenance of the eastern wing will eventually be resolved, Minekov stressed.

He pointed out that it was this very ward in which the Bulgarian cleric of Chilandrio monastery Paisios of Chilandarius completed his Slavo-Bulgarian History, a book that is considered a landmark of the Bulgarian National Renaissance.

The culture minister also announced that he will request a meeting with the abbot of the monastery to discuss other ways of providing support, including help to modernize the heating system and repair the road leading to the monastery Zografou.