Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew presided over the Patriarchal and Polyarchieratic Divine Liturgy at the Katholikon of the Holy Patriarchal and Stavropegic Monastery of Valoukli with the participation of Hierarchs of the Ecumenical Throne and the Holy Churches of Bulgaria and Ukraine on the morning of the Sunday of the Myrrhbearers.
This fully confirms the report by Orthodoxtimes.com, which provided information about the celebration of the co-liturgy at the Phanar with the Hierarchs of the two Churches. It is also a particularly significant development, as it represents the de facto recognition of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine by the Church of Bulgaria. This recognition strengthens the position of Constantinople and delivers a setback to the Russian Church.
It is noteworthy that Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv and All Ukraine attended the funeral service of the late Patriarch Neophyte of Bulgaria.
The Divine Liturgy was con-celebrated by Metropolitans of Aenea Makarios, Theodoritos of Laodicea, Nikolai of Plovdiv, Kyprianos of Stara Zagora, Evstratii of Bila Tserkva, Apostolos of New Jersey, Iakovos of Dorostol, Nathaniel of Chicago, and Theodoros of Seleucia, as well as Sionios of Velikia, Vissarion of Smolian, and Avraamiy of Boryspil.
In his speech, after the Divine Liturgy, the Ecumenical Patriarch expressed his joy for the participation in the Divine Liturgy of Hierarchs from the two Churches of Bulgaria and Ukraine.
“A sign of the Lord’s everlasting presence within us is the concelebration with our brother Hierarchs from two beloved daughter Churches of the Church of Constantinople, namely the Autocephalous Churches of Bulgaria and Ukraine. Your presence in the courts of the common Mother Church is a cause for celebration, as it demonstrates that our efforts for the stability and well-being of our spiritual children have borne fruit.
Furthermore, we are confident that for you, this pilgrimage to the Queen of Cities and the Great Church is a spiritual return to the baptismal font. It is a renewal that regenerated and enlightened your peoples, marking a decisive and beneficial turning point in their history and culture.”
The service was attended by the Metropolitans Elder Emmanuel of Chalcedon, Elder Demetrios of the Princes’ Islands, Nektarios of Anthidon, Commissioner of the Holy Sepulchre in Constantinople, Eirinaios of Myriophytos and Peristasis, Hilarion of Winnipeg, Ioakeim of Bursa, and Konstantinos of Denver, clergymen from Bulgaria, Greece and Ukraine, Ambassador of Bulgaria to Turkey Angel Cholakov, Ambassador Konstantinos Koutras, Consul General of Greece in Constantinople, Roman Nedilskyi, Consul General of Ukraine, Archons Offikalioi of the Great Church of Christ, and many believers from Constantinople and pilgrims from abroad.
Immediately afterwards, the Ecumenical Patriarch performed a Trisagion at the Tomb of his predecessor, Patriarch Demetrios, commemorating all the Patriarchs, Hierarchs and Great Benefactors of the Nation who rest in the courtyard of the Monastery. He then went to the adjacent Second Cemetery of the Monastery where he performed a Trisagion for the repose of the souls, “of our fathers and brothers, whose names the Lord only knows.”
