The first Bulgarian printed book

Abagar is the first printed book in Bulgarian history to include elements of Modern Bulgarian. It was printed in Cyrillic and Croatian (Illyrian) in Rome in 1651. Its author was Filip Stanislavov, the future Catholic bishop of Nikopol, who published it in honour of the legendary King Abgar V Ukkama.
The book is a prayer book intended for the needs of the Catholic Church in Bulgaria. It contains apocryphal prayers and religious narratives that go beyond Catholic dogma. The text is in Cyrillic and includes several illustrations.
Abagar also contains Modern Bulgarian elements, and Serbo-Croatian influence is evident. Its printed format was designed so that it could be carried “in place of powerful relics”. Its form as an amulet combining text and illustrations appealed to Bulgarians’ traditional reverence for the word while opposing the idolatry they rejected.
Abagar was intended to serve as an amulet worn around the waist or left arm and was arranged as a scroll. It was printed on one side only of five large sheets of high artistic value, commissioned by Pope Gregory XIII and produced by Robert Granjon. The book is decorated with woodcut illustrations, including images of Saints Constantine and Helena but not of the Crucifixion.