Bulgaria will begin covering the medical insurance costs of all monks residing at the Bulgarian Saint George Zograf Monastery on Mount Athos from Aug. 1, 2026, following unanimous approval of a budget amendment by the parliamentary budget committee.

The amendment to the 2026 budget of the National Health Insurance Fund was backed by all political parties represented on the committee, according to the Bulgarian parliament's website. The proposal was introduced by lawmaker Kostadin Angelov and was the only amendment to receive unanimous support during a committee session lasting more than six hours, Bulgarian media reported.

Under the measure, the Bulgarian government will pay health insurance contributions for the monastery's 36 monks, ensuring uninterrupted medical coverage.

The decision coincided with a visit to Bulgaria by Archimandrite Gavriil, the abbot of Zograf Monastery, who met with Deputy Foreign Minister Ivanka Tasheva. During the meeting, the two discussed projects to preserve and restore the monastery complex, as well as plans to digitize its collections of manuscripts, archival materials, and library holdings.

Saint George Zograf Monastery is the only Bulgarian monastery on Mount Athos and is regarded as one of the most important spiritual centers of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. According to tradition, it was founded in the late 10th century by three brothers from the Bulgarian royal family.

Over the centuries, the monastery played a key role in preserving Bulgarian Orthodox traditions, language, and literary culture during the period of Ottoman rule. It houses an extensive collection of medieval Slavic manuscripts, early printed books, icons, and historical documents that are considered significant to the history of Bulgaria and the wider Orthodox Christian world.

The monastery is also closely associated with the 26 Martyrs of Zograf, monks who, according to Orthodox tradition, were killed in the 13th century after refusing to accept ecclesiastical union with Rome. Their commemoration has made the monastery an enduring symbol of fidelity to the Orthodox faith within the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.