Bishop Visarion of Smolyan, second vicar of Metropolitan Nikolay of Plovdiv, officiated at the funeral service for the late Fr. Angel Angelov on August 18 at the Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius in the village of Vedrare.
The service was held with the blessing of Metropolitan Nikolay and was concelebrated by clergy from the Karlovo ecclesiastical district.
Addressing the mourners, Bishop Visarion described Fr. Angel’s passing as a loss for the local Church and of a valued fellow worker in God’s vineyard. He also conveyed the condolences of Metropolitan Nikolay to the priest’s family and parishioners.
Following the service, the rites prescribed for the burial of a clergyman were performed. Priests carried the coffin into the sanctuary, allowing Fr. Angel to pass through the Royal Doors for the final time before being taken to his place of burial. The Paschal hymn “Christ is risen from the dead” was chanted as a message of consolation and Christian hope in the Resurrection.
Fr. Angel Angelov was born on July 2, 1946, and was ordained to the priesthood by the late Metropolitan Arseniy of Plovdiv on November 11, 2000.
During his ministry, he served the parishes of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Vedrare and Archangel Michael in Gorni Domlyan. He is survived by three sons, as well as grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
