Today, April 21, marks 40 days since the blessed death of the Bulgarian Patriarch and Sofia Metropolitan Neofit (15.10.1945 - 13.03.2024) , reported by the Bulgarian Patriarchate, BTA reported.
By decision of the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church - Bulgarian Patriarchate (BOC-BP) from 9:00 a.m. in the metropolitan cathedral church "St. great martyr Sunday" a bishop's requiem holy liturgy will be celebrated in Sofia, after which, at 11:00 a.m., there will also be a memorial service.
"May God forgive and rest our blessed deceased first hierarch in the villages of the righteous, write him in the book of life and place him with the saints! May his bright memory live forever!", says the message from the BOC-BP.
As BTA wrote, a requiem prayer for 20 days since the blessed death of the Bulgarian Patriarch and Sofia Metropolitan Neophyte was held on April 1 at the grave of His Holiness, which is at the Metropolitan Cathedral "St. great martyr Sunday" in Sofia.
The funeral service was led then by the deputy-president of the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church - Bulgarian Patriarchate (BOC-BP) - Metropolitan Gregory of Vratsa.
Before that, in the church "St. Marina" in the courtyard of the Sofia Metropolis, we celebrated the memorial service, after which we came to the grave of His Holiness and celebrated the trisagium - a funeral prayer, because today marks 20 days since the death of His Holiness the Bulgarian Patriarch and Metropolitan Neophyte of Sofia, the deputy chairman of the The Holy Synod of the BOC-BP Metropolitan Grigory of Vratsa.
He announced that on the 40th day after the death of His Holiness Patriarch Neophyte, there will be a service in the Metropolitan Cathedral "St. Sunday" and the entire Holy Synod is expected to participate in it.
On March 16, Bulgaria sent His Holiness the Bulgarian Patriarch and Metropolitan Neophyte of Sofia to his last earthly journey. He died on March 13 at 10:22 p.m. after a long illness at the Military Medical Academy (MMA-Sofia) as a result of multiple organ failure.
As BTA wrote, at the meeting of the Holy Synod on March 19, in accordance with Article 42, paragraph one of the Statute of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, His Eminence Metropolitan Grigoriy of Vratsa was unanimously elected vice-president of the Holy Synod of the BOC-BP. This is what Metropolitan Cyprian of Stara Zagora, who is the spokesman of the Holy Synod of the BOC-BP, told journalists at the Synodal Palace.
He specified that the deputy-president of the Holy Synod will also perform the duties of the Metropolitan of Sofia.
The Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church - Bulgarian Patriarchate (BOC) meets then to elect a deputy chairman of the BOC-BP, who will lead the church for the next four months until the new Bulgarian patriarch is elected.
On the same day, the Holy Synod decided on June 30, 2024 to convene a Patriarchal Electoral Church Council for the election of a new Bulgarian Patriarch. On June 20 of this year, a special meeting of the Holy Synod be convened on the basis of Article 45, paragraph 1 of the Statute of the BOC-BP, at which three diocesan metropolitans - candidates for the patriarchal throne who meet the requirements of Article 40 of the Statute - will be elected of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church - Bulgarian Patriarchate, was also decided on March 19 by the Holy Synod.