Bulgarian Church Celebrated 70th Year of Patriarchate Restoration
Pic: bg-patriarshia.bg
OCP News Service – 12/05/2023
Sofia-Bulgaria: The Bulgarian Orthodox Church celebrated the 70th year of patriarchate restoration on 10th May 2023 with a Hierarchical Divine Liturgy at the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia, Bulgaria. The liturgy was led by His Holiness the Bulgarian Patriarch Neofit with the bishops and clergy in the Patriarchal Cathedral. During the liturgy, Bishop Gerasim of Melnysh read the Patriarchal and Synodal message. The liturgy was attended by the representatives of the Russian and Romanian Patriarchates.
Pic: bg-patriarshia.bg
In 1945 decades-old schism between the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Bulgarian Church came to an end, which paved the way for the restoration of the Patriarchate in 1953. The ecclesiastical history of the Bulgarian church says that the Third Church-People’s Council convened according to the Statute (May 8-10) restored the patriarchal status of the Bulgarian Church and on May 10 elected His Eminence St. Cyril, Metropolitan of Plovdiv, Deputy-President of St. Synod and Chairman of the Council, for the Patriarch of Bulgaria and Metropolitan of Sofia. The enthronement takes place immediately after the election in the Patriarchal Cathedral-monument temple “St. Alexander Nevsky” in the presence of representatives of the government and the cultural community, foreign delegations, and numerous believers. After the death of Patriarch Cyril in 1971, in his place was elected the Metropolitan of Lovech, Maxim, leading the church until his death in 2012. On 10 November 2012, Metropolitan Cyril of Varna and Veliki Preslav was chosen as interim leader to organize the election of the new Patriarch within four months.[10] At the church council convened to elect a new Patriarch on 24 February 2013, the Metropolitan of Ruse, Neophyt was elected Patriarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and continues in the position.
Pic: bg-patriarshia.bg
To read the Patriarchal and Synodal message on the occasion of the 70th year of Patriarchate restoration click here.
Source:
OCP News Service
