Faith Hope & Love

These three women, dressed in traditional Bulgarian folk attire, hold the symbols of Bulgaria – bread, grapes, and roses. They stand before an apple tree with nested dove – the Holy Spirit. These three saintly women represent Sts. Faith, Hope, and Love, whose feast day is September 18 in the Orthodox calendar. The three girls had their saintly mother, St. Sophia, with them, when all three were martyred. "Sophia" means divine wisdom, and it personifies the Holy Spirit, which appears above the tree.