His All-Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I will visit Bulgaria on 19 October for the feast of St John of Rila.
The announcement was made on Friday during the Service of Supplication to the Mother of God held at the Church of St John of Rila of the Bulgarian community in Constantinople.
The visit will take place at the invitation of the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and will include the Ecumenical Patriarch’s participation in celebrations at Rila Monastery and in Sofia. The events will mark the 1,150th anniversary of the saint’s birth and the 1,080th anniversary of his repose. St John of Rila is regarded as the patron saint of the Bulgarian people.
“We therefore wish that our presence here today will be the preliminary message of what is to take place in October in Bulgaria, as an additional proof of the love of the Holy Great Church of Christ for this Saint, who, although he lived in ascetic obscurity on Mount Rila, became a source of sanctification not only for the Bulgarian people, but for the entire Orthodox Church,” His All-Holiness said.
Patriarch Bartholomew highlighted the ties between Constantinople and the Church of Bulgaria, emphasising the Ecumenical Patriarchate’s role in transmitting the Christian faith to the Bulgarian people.
“It is a bond of blood and Spirit, a relationship of centuries-old historical and spiritual kinship.”
Bulgarian community in Turkey
The Ecumenical Patriarch also highlighted the place of the Bulgarian community in Turkey within the Archdiocese of Constantinople, explaining that canonical affiliation with this jurisdiction does not entail the loss of its own identity.
“The Mother Church, fulfilling her sacred canonical responsibility, lovingly preserves the language, liturgical traditions and cultural customs of every people, whom she pastorally cares for within her bosom.”
“Through the diversity of languages and traditions, unity in Christ is highlighted, transcending all national distinction,” Patriarch Bartholomew I added.
His All-Holiness also recalled his good relations with the Primate of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, mentioning the latter’s visit, together with His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Orthodox Church, to the island of Imbros on 11 June, on the occasion of the Ecumenical Patriarch’s name day.
The service was attended by Vasil Valchev, Consul General of Bulgaria in Constantinople; Slavi Binev, President of the Bulgarian Taekwondo Federation and Vice-President of the Bulgarian Olympic Committee; pilgrims from Bulgaria; and members of the Bulgarian community in Constantinople.
Photo: Ecumenical Patriarchate / Nikos Papachristou
