Patriarch Neofit of Bulgaria receives delegation of the Russian Orthodox Church
On February 26, 2013, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate’s department for external church relations, met with His Holiness Neofit, Patriarch of Bulgaria, and members of the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Patriarchate.
Participating in the meeting were Metropolitans Dometian of Vidin, Kiril of Varna and Veliki Preslav, Joseph of America, Canada and Australia, Nathanail of Nevrokop, Gregory of Veliko Tarnovo, Nikolay of Plovdiv, Amvrosy of Dorostol, as well as Bishop Naum of Stobi, general secretary of the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Archpriest Nikolay Balashov, DECR vice-chairman, Archimandrite Philip (Vasiltsev), dean of ROC Sofia Representation, and Archpriest Igor Yakimchuk, DECR secretary for inter-Orthodox relations.
On behalf of His Holiness Kirill, Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Metropolitan Hilarion congratulated the Primate of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church on his election to the Patriarchal throne and conveyed an invitation to come to the Russian Orthodox Church for a peace visit.
During their talk which lasted for an hour and a half, the hierarchs discussed prospects for the development of cooperation between the Russian and Bulgarian Orthodox Churches in various areas including religious education, students exchange, construction of churches and pilgrimage, as well as the present state of pan-Orthodox cooperation and inter-Christian dialogue.
In conclusion of the meeting, Metropolitan Hilarion presented His Holiness Neofit with a copy of his book “Orthodoxy”.
DECR Communication Service
