23 – 26 September 2015, Sofia, Bulgaria Information

EBF Council 2015 23 – 26 September 2015, Sofia, Bulgaria Information VENUE Accommodation and some meetings Ramada Sofia Maria Luiza 131 Blvd Sofia, 1202 Bulgaria Tel +359 2 933 84 80 Fax: +359 2 933 8 777 www.ramadasofia.com TIME Some meetings Sofia Baptist Centre Osogovo str. 86-­‐88 Sofia 1303 Bulgaria +359 2 9310682 this is the address of the new Centre and the old church’s phone www.sebc.bg Wed 23 – Sat 26 September 2015 • Registration opens on Wednesday, 23 Sep at 10.00 in the hotel lobby
• The Council meeting will start with a buffet dinner in Sofia Baptist Centre at 17.00
followed by the Opening Service at 19.00 in Sofia Baptist Centre
• The Council meeting will end with lunch on Saturday and will be followed by
optional sightseeing tours
• On Sunday 27 September delegates are invited to attend the worship service in
Sofia Baptist Centre or one of the smaller Baptist Churches in the city (3 in the city,
3 are one hour distance from the city)
Register by clicking here! Registration deadline is Friday, 31 July 2015 COUNCIL FEE OPTION 1 Accom. in a SINGLE ROOM (3 nights) Before 25 June 330 Euros After 25 June 360 Euros OPTION 2 (price per person) Accom. in a SHARED ROOM (3 nights) Before 25 June 275 Euros After 25 June 305 Euros OPTION 3 No accommodation Before 25 June 180 Euros After 25 June 180 Euros Extra nights can be booked at the price of 45 Euros for a single room, 55 Euros for a double room/ per room, including breakfast. THE COUNCIL FEE INCLUDES: • Accommodation for 3 nights (from Wednesday until Saturday morning)
• Airport pick-­‐up and drop-­‐off
• Meals:
✓ Breakfast every morning of accommodation ü Lunch on Thursday, Friday and Saturday ü Dinner on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday ü Coffee breaks on Thursday, Friday, Saturday • EBF Council registration fee
1 CANCELLATION POLICY Conference fees, which will increase after 25 June 2014, will be refunded only when written request arrives in the EBF office before 31 August. An administration fee of 30 Euros will apply to all cancellations. We regret that cancellations made after 31 August will result in loss of the entire Council fee. PAYMENT Payments can be made: 1. In cash during the Council meeting in Sofia
OR 2. By a bank transfer into the EBF bank account. Please ensure that you
mark any transfers EBF Council followed by your name. Please indicate on the registration form how you will be paying. EBF bank account details: Beneficiary: Address: Account no: Bank name: IBAN: Bank code: BIC: SWIFT via: European Baptist Federation Baptist House, Postjesweg 175, 1062 JN Amsterdam, The Netherlands 171700 Spar-­‐ und Kreditbank Evangelisch-­‐Freikirchlicher Gemeinden eG, Bad Homburg, GERMANY DE64 5009 2100 0000 1717 00 50092100 GENODE51BH2 GENODE55 (DZ BANK AG, Deutschen Zentral-­‐Genossenschaftsbank, Frankfurt am Main) SCHOLARSHIPS EBF Scholarship fund for the Council will be distributed between those who send their registration forms and applications to the EBF office by the registration deadline 31 July. Applications submitted after this date will not be considered. TRAVEL By air to Sofia You will need to fly into the Sofia International Airport. On their website you can find the list of airlines and timetables. You will need to indicate which terminal you arrive on when you send your travel schedule. EBF Council delegates will be met at the airport by local Baptists and taken to the Ramada Hotel or to the Sofia Baptist Centre depending on the arrival time. Delegates will receive further information about the airport pick-­‐ups and drop-­‐offs after the registration information, including the arrival and departure times, has been collected from all participants. By car Please follow the directions given on the Hotel Ramada website. Parking at the Hotel Ramada car park is free for accommodated guests. LANGUAGE Council language will be English, simultaneous translation will be offered into Russian language if needed. 2 SIGHTSEEING There will be three options for sightseeing on Saturday afternoon after the end of the Council meetings. Please book your tour on the registration form. Please note that both tours can be arranged for a group of 15 or more persons. If there will be less people signing up for either tours, the arrangements will need to be changed. 1. Tour of Rila Monastry
Rila Monastery is one of the most famous symbols of Bulgaria. Throughout the centuries it has been
educational, cultural and the most influential spiritual centre in the country. The monastery is located in
the Rila Mountains at 1150 m above sea level, it lies between Rilska and Drushlyavitsa Rivers.
Not only is it the biggest monastery in Bulgaria, but also the second biggest monastery on the Balkan
Peninsula. It was founded in the first half of the 10th century. Its history is directly related to St. John of
Rila, popular in Bulgarian language as Ivan Rilski, the first Bulgarian hermit, who settled in the region and
devoted his life to fasting and prayers. The monastery was initially situated near the cave where the saint
dwelled. At the present, his relics are being kept in the monastery’s main church "Nativity of the Virgin".
Rila Monastery is listed as a UNESCO List of Global Cultural Heritage. The total area which the holy
cloister takes, together with the church, the residential, and the farming buildings, is 8800 sq m. The
monastery courtyard, the Church, the Hrelyo’s Tower, the residential and the farming buildings are
surrounded by 22 m-high stone walls. There are around 300 rooms in the monastery, 100 of which are
monastic cells. At present Rila holy cloister is a functioning monastery.
The tour will end with dinner in a Traditional Bulgarian Restaurant in the surroundings of the monastery
before the bus departs back to Sofia. The journey from Sofia takes no more then 2 hours, on one of the
main roads to Greece, the last part leading to the monastery cuts through picturesque villages and sites
through the Rila Mountain. Roads are well looked after as this is a main tourist attractions.
PRICE: The full cost of the trip is 40 Euros per person, it includes 25 Euros for the travel and logistics and 15 Euros for the evening meal. 2. Tour of Sofia
Sofia is Bulgaria’s capital and its largest city. Founded thousands of years ago, today the city continues
to develop as the country’s cultural and economic centre. It is located in the western part of the country,
on the Sofia Plain and on the lower slopes of Mount Vitosha. The city is located at a strategic crossroads.
The route from Western Europe to Istanbul passes through Sofia via Beograd and Skopje, then through
Plovdiv to Turkey. Sofia also connects the Near East and the Middle East, lying between the banks of the
Danube and the shores of the White Sea on the one hand, and between the Black Sea and the Adriatic
on the other.
Sofia has been settled for many millennia. In honour of its hot springs, in the 8th century BC the Thracian
tribes settled here and gave the city its first name – Serdika or Serdonpolis. In the 1st century BC, it was
captured by the Romans, who transformed it into a Roman city. It was the favourite place of Constantine
the Great. The city became an inseparable part of The First Bulgarian Empire (7th-9th centuries) under
Han Omurtag. In 1382, the city fell to the Ottomans. It was liberated five centuries later, in 1878, and in
1879 it was declared the capital of the Bulgarian nation.
Sofia preserves many valuable monuments to its long and storied past. You will have the opportunity to
see the remnants of The Eastern Gate from the days when Sofia was Serdika and Sredets, dating from
the 2nd-4th centuries CE, the Saint Sofia Basilica, founded during the reign of Justinian, the oldest
church in Sofia the Saint George Rotunda. It is thought that the church was built in the 4th century,
during the reign of Constantine the Great. Also the Memorial Church Saint Alexander Nevsky, now one
of the city’s most recognizable symbols with its golden domes which attracts attention from miles away.
The tour will end with dinner in a Traditional Bulgarian Restaurant with live Bulgarian Music.
PRICE: The full cost of the tour and evening dinner is 30 Euros per person, this includes 5 Euros for the city tour, and 25 Euros for the meal and the evening program. 3 3. Visit to the National Historical Museum and the Boyana Church
This tour will include a tour of the city centre, a visit to the National Historical Museum which is located in the area of Boyana Presidential Residence built by the Communists, and to the Boyana Church built in the 11th century. For the evening meal it will join the other Sofia group for dinner in the Traditional Bulgarian Restaurant. PRICE: The full cost of the tour is 50 Euro, including 25 euros for transportation, guide in the museum and the church, admission fees and 25 euros for the evening meal. VISA INFORMATION Please visit the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria to check whether you need a visa or not, and the conditions for obtaining a visa. If you have any doubts, please contact the Bulgarian Embassy in your country to check the requirements.
If you need to obtain a visa, please contact Helle Liht no later than 15 June in order to start the visa application process. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us: Baptist Union of Bulgaria: Dimitrina Oprenova: +359 887 440 792 Teodor Oprenov: +359 888 236 045 European Baptist Federation Helle Liht tel: fax: email: www: +372 50 45 403 +372 63 80 727 helle@ebf.org www.ebf.org 4