The saint library

Saint Susanna, Abbess of Novo Selo

Abbess and martyr
Novo Selo, Apriltsi, Bulgaria · 19th century
Feast day: May 9

Published composite showing Holy Trinity Monastery church and the collective icon of the Novo Selo martyrs; individual figure positions are not identified. Image source: Sofia Metropolitanate; account credited to Lovech Metropolitanate.

A life of faith

Susanna was the abbess of Holy Trinity Monastery at Novo Selo, now part of Apriltsi. The account identifies her as the daughter of Tsonko Somlev and remembers her oversight of the sisters’ monastic rule. She is named among the martyrs killed at the monastery on May 9, 1876. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church canonized the Novo Selo martyrs in 2011.

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