The article is devoted to the study of the Gagauz holiday Hederlez, which in the Orthodox tradition corresponds to the Feast Day of Saint George the Great Martyr. The aim of the study is to identify the historical and cultural origins of this holiday, its semantics, and the specific features of its functioning in contemporary Gagauz culture. The author examines ritual practices associated with the holiday and its role within the system of the traditional economic cycle. Particular attention is paid to the problem of the origin of the name “Hederlez,” which has an Arabic-Muslim etymology, and its adoption in the language of the ancestors of the Gagauz and the Gagauz people themselves, who profess Orthodoxy. The article substantiates the argument that initially this праздник functioned within the framework of the Christian tradition as St. George’s Day, with the saint acting as the patron of livestock breeding and a symbol of the beginning of the summer pastoral season. The transformation of its name, as well as certain elements of its ritual complex, is associated with the influence of the Ottoman-Turkish cultural and linguistic environment, in which the image of Saint George became associated with figures of Muslim mythology — Khidr and Ilyas. Such identification is interpreted as a manifestation of religious syncretism characteristic of regions marked by long-term interaction between Christian and Muslim populations. It is demonstrated that the borrowing of the name “Hederlez” in the Gagauz language is indirect and linked to the Ottoman period, while the Christian content of the holiday has been preserved. The study emphasizes that processes of cultural interaction should be interpreted in terms of acculturation rather than assimilation, since the borrowing of certain elements did not lead to the loss of the core confessional and ethnocultural identity. In conclusion, it is noted that in contemporary conditions Hederlez functions as an important symbol of Gagauz ethnocultural identity, combining elements of traditional ritual practice, religious symbolism, and a secular festive space.

Keywords: Gagauz, Hederlez, Saint George, Arabic etymology, borrowing, Orthodoxy, ethnocultural identity.

For citation
Nicoglo D.E. From Saint George to Hederlez: The Transformation of the Name and Ritual Tradition in Gagauz Culture. Journal of Gagauz Studies, 2025, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 5–16. https://doi.org/10.65324/jgs001

This article examines the content and functional significance of the calendar customs and rituals of the summer cycle among the Gagauz people of Bulgaria. The popular names of the months used by them are analyzed in relation to their economic activities. The rituals of the holidays are given, taking into account the two-cycle division of the year that they used. The author relies on his own field materials, collected during individual expeditions to Gagauz villages in North-Eastern Bulgaria. They reflect the specifics of the Gagauz calendar rituals in this region. The survey covered seven Gagauz settlements, with a total of 60 respondents. It is emphasized that for ethnic groups whose origins remain controversial, the study of the ethnoregional specificity of traditional spiritual culture is extremely important. It is shown that the traditional worldview of the Gagauz people is characterized by the use of two calendars with different spheres of application — two-cycle and four-cycle. The special significance of the holidays Hederlez, Kasym and Petkov Day in the traditional culture of the Gagauz people is noted. This, according to the author, indicates their priority use of a two-cycle division of the year in their life activities, which is explained by the dominant role of the cattle-breeding way of life with a semi-transhumant type of sheep farming.

Keywords: Gagauz people of Bulgaria, calendar, customs, rites, holidays, Hederez, Kasym.

For citation
Kvilinkova E.N. Calendar and calendar rituality in the traditional culture of the Gagauz people of Bulgaria (summer cycle of holidays). Journal of Gagauz Studies, 2025, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 17–32. https://doi.org/10.65324/jgs002

This article, based on archival documents, presents material dedicated to the tragic fate of the Orthodox priest Vasile Makedonsky, who was repressed by the Soviet authorities in the Moldavian ASSR for defending the Orthodox Church and the rights of believers. Over several years, the author of this article collected archival material on the life of Archpriest Vasile Makedonsky, who was executed by execution by the NKVD in 1938. To gather this material, the author traveled to Father Vasile›s home village of Cazaclia and worked in the archives of the Republic of Moldova. In the village of Cazaclia and in the Republic of Gagauzia, the memory of Archpriest Vasile Makedonsky, who actively opposed the closure of Orthodox churches in the Moldavian ASSR, is honored. On March 5, 2013, a memorial service was held at St. George›s Church in the village of Kazaklia in memory of the Orthodox priest Vasily Dmitrievich Makedonsky, a martyr for the faith who was innocently murdered by the NKVD. On December 8, 2016, an extended meeting of the Canonization Commission of the Tiraspol-Dubossary Diocese was held at the diocesan administration. The meeting considered the possibility of glorifying Hieromonk Vikentiy (Kimityuk), brutally murdered in the village of Tashlyk in the 1950s, and Priest Vasily Makedonsky, executed in 1938, as locally venerated saints.

Keywords: Gagauz, Kazaklia, Orthodoxy, Gagauzia, Republic of Moldova.

For citation
Bulgar S.S. Orthodox priest Vasily the Macedonian, a native of the village of Kazaklia, was a martyr for the faith. Journal of Gagauz Studies, 2025, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 33–43. https://doi.org/10.65324/jgs003

The relevance of the presented topic is considered in the context of the lack of study of migration processes in the modern history of the Gagauz people and regional history, which have taken an important place in the fate of the Gagauz people and Gagauzia, in particular, and on the scale of the country as a whole. The research topic is new in modern regional history (history) and historiography, therefore the authors put at the forefront rare, previously unpublished, field material of one non-governmental socio-humanitarian project, which received its development and continuation. This circumstance makes this article unique and inimitable. For the same reason, it may sometimes look not entirely academic. However, this circumstance does not make it less relevant and significant not only at the regional, but also at the global level, since the problem of migration is at the forefront everywhere today, and positive experience even in a separate area can bring the global community closer to its solution. The study of the rare and in its own way unique experience of the Gagauz people and the inhabitants of the region, in the matter of preserving and developing its representatives’ ties with their homeland, during migration processes, revealed a whole range of related problems awaiting their research and solution, some of which are reflected in the article. The authors of the article presented to your attention are convinced that this material will contribute to the solution of one of the important civilizational problems of modern society, which has already become familiar — the problem of migration on a global scale. In turn, this will serve the cause of preserving the Gagauz people themselves and their unique cultural and ethnic identity, the history of which dates back more than one century.

Keywords: Gagauz, migration, Orthodoxy, church, Copceac, diaspora, demography, state, Germany, identity, history.

For citation
Zelinsky V.P., Boykov V.E. Developing ties with the diaspora is the path to preserving the spiritual and cultural identity of the people (from the experience of the Orthodox parish in the village of Kopchak). Journal of Gagauz Studies, 2025, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 44–55. https://doi.org/10.65324/jgs004

This review provides a general overview and analysis of the monograph “Maaneto kato zhanr na gagauzkija folklor” (Maane as a genre of Gagauz folklore) by American researcher of Gagauz origin Larisa Yakut. It is noted that the monograph was prepared by the author on the basis of her thesis research having been conducted during her study at the Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski; the topic under study is followed up to 2004, but due attention is not paid to the thesis of F.I. Arnaut focused on a comparative study of Gagauz maane and similar Turkish and Azerbaijani lyrical couplets. The monograph itself was published in 2020, and therefore one of its shortcomings is the lack of textual material and scientific literature on maane for recent years. In addition, the review points out that the study lacks editorial corrections in terms of spelling and punctuation of the Bulgarian and Gagauz languages and bringing the entire scientific apparatus into proper form. However, in general, despite a number of errors and shortcomings, the work makes a good impression due to the meticulousness of the research and the professional description and analysis of one of the specific types of Gagauz verbal folklore.

Keywords: maane, genre, type, Gagauz verbal folklore, Bulgaria, Bessarabia, Gagauz, Gagauzia.

For citation
Sirf V.I. Review of: Yakut L. Maaneto kato genre on Gagauz folklore. Scientific Editor: Emil Boev; Scientific Editor: Emil Boev; Scientific Society of Bulgarists in the Republic of Moldova. Chisinau, 2020, 200 p. Journal of Gagauz Studies, 2025, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 56–62. https://doi.org/10.65324/jgs005

This review provides a general overview and analysis of the Collection of Overview-Thematic Lectures on the History of the Gagauz People. The collection was compiled by a team of authors, each of whom is among the leading scholars in various fields of Gagauz studies. It is one of the rare publications of this type in the Russian language, which makes it possible for a broader audience — representatives of different nationalities, especially those who do not speak the Gagauz language — to become acquainted with the history and culture of the Gagauz people. One of its advantages is that the collection is also available in the Gagauz language, which should serve as an additional incentive and support for the in-depth study of the Gagauz language. Among its merits is also the presentation of the history, culture, customs, and traditions of the Gagauz people in a sufficiently clear and accessible form.

Keywords: Gagauz people, history, thematic lectures, Bessarabia.

For citation
Maevskaya L.B. Review of: Collection of overview and thematic lectures on the history of the Gagauz people: compilers V. Boykov, I. Duminica. Comrat, 2025, 410 p. Journal of Gagauz Studies, 2025, vol. 3, no. 1, pp. 63–65. https://doi.org/10.65324/jgs006