Cardinal Parolin Meets Bulgarian Patriarch in Sofia

(Sofia) Cardinal Secretary Pietro Parolin is currently on a visit to Bulgaria. Yesterday morning a meeting with Patriarch Neofit of the Bulgarian Orthodox  Church in Sofia, was followed by a meeting with the Bulgarian Prime Minister  Bojko Borissov, with President Rossen Plevnielev and with the Grand Mufti of Bulgaria.

In the evening the Cardinal Secretary will give a speech for the occasion of the third anniversary of the election of Pope Francis and the 25th anniversary of the reestablishment  of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Bulgaria and the Holy See. It was a step that followed immediately after the overthrow of the Communist dictatorship.

Patriarch Neofit thanked   Cardinal Parolin for the "hearty reception" of Orthodox representatives in the Vatican. During the talks, the good relations between the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the Holy See were stressed. Every year, a Bulgarian-Orthodox delegation comes to the Vatican for the Feast of Saint Cyril and Methodius.

Cardinal Parolin spoke of the possibility to build upon the frequency of the mutual contacts, the relations and collaboration between Bulgarian Catholic and the Orthodox. Describing concrete situations, he identified the work with youth and care for the poor.

The meeting between Pope Francis and the Moscow Patriarch Kyrill as well as the Pan Orthodox Council, which is planned for June on Crete. Cardinal Parolin assured  Patriarch Neofit, he would pray for the success of the Council.

He also spoke gratefully for the opportunity of young seminarians and theologians of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church to be able to study at the Pontifical Oriental Institute  and other Catholic study centers. 

President Plevneliev awarded the Cardinal Secretary the Stara Plana, the highest order of the land. Plevneliev asserted that Bulgaria shares Pope Francis' concern for those suffering in the conflict in Syria and in the Ukraine. 

About 85 percent of the Bulgarian population are Orthodox Christians, which includes almost all Bulgarians. About nine percent belong to Turkish ethnicity, four percent are Roma. The majority of the Turks and the Roma are Muslims.

Text: Giuseppe Nardi
Bild: Radio Vatikan (Screenshot)

Trans: Tancred vekron99@hotmail.com

AMDG

Bulgarian Metropolitan Commemorates Clergy Martyred by the Communists

[Pravmir.com] Bulgaria’s Christian Orthodox Church commemorated for the first time the victims of communist repression on Friday, 23 years after the toppling of the regime.

A special memorial service was held at Sofia’s Alexander Nevski cathedral by Varna metropolitan and interim patriarch Kiril, joined by a number of other Church dignitaries.

“This is the first time that the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church has held nationwide commemoration services for the victims of the repressions,” Kiril told AFP.

Addressing the congregation after the mass, he said the Church had identified 152 priests who were persecuted after the communist regime seized power in 1944: 13 were sentenced to death and another 13 were jailed for life.

The Holy Synod, the Church’s top body, is now considering whether to canonise some of them, he said.

“This stance is a crack in the wall of indifference of the Orthodox Church,” former political prisoner Fredy Foscolo said after the service.

In 2011, parliament designated February 1 as a permanent special day of remembrance for the over 7,000 people who were executed or jailed as “fascists” by the communists during their 45-year rule between 1944 and 1989.

These included three former prime ministers, dozens of ministers and lawmakers, royal regents and advisors, teachers, priests, civil servants, prominent writers and journalists.

The regime did not go as far as to close churches but imposed atheism, did not tolerate churchgoing and controlled the priests’ rise in Church hierarchy.

The opening of the former communist police archives revealed that 11 of the 15 Holy Synod members were former secret police agents who collaborated with the communist regime.

Bulgaria’s late patriarch Maxim, who died on November 6, was not on the list, but Kiril was.

A Church Council is due to choose Bulgaria’s next patriarch on February 24.

Relics of Saint Alexander Nevsky Stolen

[Novite] Relics of 13 saints including those of 13th century Russian national hero Knyaz Alexander Nevsky have been stolen from a church in St Petersburg a law enforcement source reported on Wednesday. An employee of St Catherine the Martyr Church on Vasilyevsky Island reported the theft to police on Tuesday RIA Novosti reported. On Monday night the perpetrators entered the church through a window on the first floor and went to the office of the rector where they stole relics of 13 saints including those of St Alexander Nevsky.

They also stole a communion cup of white metal with the image of saints and five baptismal crosses of yellow and white metal the source said The Russian police have opened a criminal case into the theft. The relics of St Alexander Nevsky the 13th century Russian knyaz who defended Eastern Orthodox Christianity against the Catholic Teutonic Knights were supposed to arrive in Bulgaria on Wednesday for veneration by believers at the cathedral in Varna.

On Tuesday however a day before the theft is reported publicly the Varna Bishopric of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church said the display of the St Alexander Nevsky relics had been put off for November.

Novite....

Bulgarian Church in Constantinople to Be Restored to Bulgarian Orthodox Church

Istanbul, July 19, 2011

The Istanbul Municipality and the provincial administration have joined efforts to restore the Bulgarian "St. Stefan" church.
According to Hurriyet Daily News, "the parts of the church that have become dirty and sooty will be cleaned thoroughly with detergent water, while the missing ornaments on the façade will be replicated using original material. The crooked parts of the roof will also be renewed."
The same publication informs that the restoration is scheduled to begin next month and will cost TRL 2.5 M

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Relics of St. Maximus the Confessor to Move to Bulgaria from Mount Athos

[novite.com] The relics of the great Christian Orthodox theologian St. Maximus the Confessor will travel from Mount Athos and be laid out for veneration in the patriarchal St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia Sunday.

The relics of St. Maximus will be laid out for veneration after 1.30 pm, after the end of the official solemn mass commemorating the 40th anniversary of the enthronement of Bulgarian Patriarch Maxim.

The relics St. Maximus are kept at the St. Paul Monastery in Mount Athos and only rarely travel abroad. Up to Thursday, they will visit other places in Bulgaria, making stops at Silistra, Varna and Plovdiv.

St. Maximus the Confessor lived 580-662, being born in Constantinople and died in exile in Georgia. He is considered one of the greates theologians in the Eastern Orthodox world, having laid down key percepts of christian philosophy in the East.

Link to article...here

Islamization a Major Issue in Bulgarian Politics Today: Unrest

H/t: Fisheaters

The Relics of St. John the Baptist Are Authentic

[Standart, Bulgaria] The relics of John the Baptist recently discovered in the Black Sea town of Sozopol are authentic, declared Vatican expert Michael Hesseman, according to Minister of Diaspora historian Bozhidar Dimitrov. Mayor of Sozopol, Dr. of History Panayot Reizi handed over the reliquary to Father Ivan of the local St. George church. Yesterday, thousands of laymen gathered in town to see the valuable reliquary encased in gold and silver, a gift from PM Boyko Borisov. The relics of John the Baptist were moved to the reliquary lined with red velvet and further on will be kept in it.
“The relics have already worked the first miracle – they made Finance Minister Simeon Djankov to allot money for further research and excavations on the Sveti Ivan and Sveti Kirik islands near Sozopol,” Minister Dimitrov jokingly commented. He added that he was sure the investment would pay off as crowds of pilgrims were expected in Sozopol.

Elena Dimitrova

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Bulgarian Prime Minister coming to Vatican

From May 21 till May 24, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov will make an official visit to Rome and the Vatican.

During the first day of his visit in Rome, Borisov will have a working lunch with his Italian counterpart Silvio Berlusconi returning the visit as Berlusconi was in Sofia in the fall of 2009 becoming the first foreign leader to visit Bulgaria after the Borisov government took office in the summer.

Friday afternoon, the Bulgarian PM is taking part in the ceremony for the opening of the monument of Bulgarian writer and poet Ivan Vazov in Rome.

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Succession Crisis in Bulgarian Church over Veneration of Pope's Ring

Bulgarian Bishop Simeon is up in arms against the Holly Synod and vows to fight for the Eparchy of Central and Western Europe's post.

On December 1, the Holy Synod dismissed Simeon from the post citing ailing health and prolonged absences over travels to the US. bishops say they do not want Simeon's chosen successor, his saffragan Tihon to replace him over a picture showing Tihon kissing the Pope's hand.

The Holy Synod sent to Berlin, the seat of the Central and Western Europe Eparchy, the Bishop of Stara Zagora, Galaktion, as temporary replacement just to become swamped by letters from Simeon and many Bulgarians abroad protesting the move. The Bulgarian expats do not want Galaktion over his known ties with the Communist State Security while Simeon threatens the Bulgarian Orthodox Church with a Strasbourg lawsuit and a “large uprising.”

For years the Bishop scents most of his time in the US, but says no one can replace him since he has a life-long tenure.

The Holy Synod counters they have adopted an emergency Synod order, based on the Bulgarian Orthodox Church's Code, they say, to hold elections for the post and insist Galaktion will temporarily run the Eparchy until the elections, which will take place in six months.

Bishop Simeon has further sent a protest letter to Bulgaria's Patriarch Maxim labeling the Synod's decision illegal.

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The State Departement is Displeased with Bulgaria

Intolerance by Bulgarian local authorities of non-Orthodox Christian religious groups and anti-Semitic messages by Volen Siderov’s Ataka party are among issues raised in the US state department’s annual International Religious Freedom Report, released on October 26 2009.

The report said that Bulgaria’s constitution provides for freedom of religion and prohibits religious discrimination but designates Eastern Orthodox Christianity as the "traditional" religion.


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