Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew arrives in Bulgaria on October 17 for the celebrations of the 1150th anniversary of the birth and 1080th anniversary of the ascension of St. John of Rila the Wonderworker. The visit is at the invitation of the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church – Bulgarian Patriarchate and will last until October 19.
At 5:00 p.m. Patriarch Bartholomew and the delegation led by him will be welcomed at the Synodal Palace by the Bulgarian Patriarch Daniil and metropolitans from the Holy Synod. An hour later, the two primates will open the exhibition “Athos in Sofia“ at the National Palace of Culture of the Greek artist Evtimii Varlamis, who lived from 1942 to 2016.
Liturgy in „St. Alexander Nevsky“
On October 18, the program continues in the Patriarchal Cathedral „St. Alexander Nevsky“. The Bulgarian Patriarch will be welcomed at 9:00 a.m., and the Ecumenical Patriarch – at 9:15 a.m. The solemn hierarchal Holy Liturgy begins at 9:30 a.m., with both primates taking part in prayer.
At 12:00 p.m., a Trisagion – requiem prayer will be served at the grave of the blessed Bulgarian Patriarch Neophyte, which is located under the colonnade of the capital's temple „St. Sunday“.
The culmination is in the Rila Monastery
The culmination of the visit is on October 19 – the day on which the Bulgarian Orthodox Church honors Saint John of Rila. At 9:00 a.m. a festive conciliar patriarchal holy liturgy will be celebrated in the Rila Holy Monastery.
The decision to invite Patriarch Bartholomew was made by the Holy Synod on June 26. When presenting it in Istanbul, the Ecumenical Patriarch defined the relations between the two churches as connected by “sacred and indestructible ties“.
Initially, the Bulgarian Patriarchate announced the celebrations for the period October 16-20. The current program for the visit of Patriarch Bartholomew, published on October 14, is specified for October 17, 18 and 19.
Sources: bta.bg, plovdiv24.bg, tribune.bg