At its regular session held on 26 June 2026 (Minutes No. 3 – full composition), the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Bulgaria decided to invite the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to Bulgaria to participate in the festive events that will take place from 16 to 20 October of this year, on the occasion of the 1150th anniversary of the birth and the 1080th anniversary of the repose of our Venerable Father Saint John of Rila the Wonderworker, the heavenly protector and defender of the Bulgarian people.
A special ecclesiastical delegation, headed by His Eminence Metropolitan Naum of Ruse and consisting of Bishop Gerasimos of Melnik, Secretary General of the Holy Synod, as well as Dr Alexander Smotchevski, visited Constantinople, Turkey, where it met with the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew and delivered the invitation, together with the greetings of His Beatitude Patriarch Daniel of Bulgaria and the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
The meeting took place at the Church of Saint Kyriaki in Kontoskali, where a solemn Divine Liturgy was celebrated on the feast day of Saint Kyriaki.
Following the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew addressed the Bulgarian envoys with the following words:
“Concluding, with feelings of sincere love and deepest respect, we welcome the official delegation of the Most Holy Bulgarian Church, composed of His Eminence Metropolitan Naum of Ruse, His Grace Bishop Gerasimos of Melnik, Secretary General of the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Church, and the distinguished Dr Alexander Smotchevski, Patriarchal Advisor, who have arrived as bearers of the official honorary invitation extended by the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Church to our humble person, so that we may preside over the festive celebrations in memory of Saint John of Rila at the Holy Monastery bearing his name during the coming month of October.
Venerable brothers,
Through your persons, we greet the entire Most Holy Bulgarian Church and fraternally embrace its Primate, our beloved and Most Blessed Metropolitan of Sofia and Patriarch of Bulgaria Daniel, whose recent visit to our birthplace, Imbros, on the occasion of our name day, filled us with spiritual joy, emotion, and gladness. Its memory remains ever alive and sweet for us.
For our two Churches are united by sacred and unbreakable bonds, bonds of common faith and love, which, according to the Apostle Paul, ‘never fails.’”
The letter sent by Patriarch Daniel of Bulgaria and the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Bulgaria states:
“The spiritual heritage and life of Saint John of Rila belong to the common Byzantine-Slavic ecclesiastical and cultural sphere, within which, for centuries, the historical relations between the Orthodox Church of Bulgaria and the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople have also developed.
For this reason, the person of Saint John of Rila constitutes one of the living spiritual bonds between the two sister Churches, bearing witness to their centuries-old common history and their shared belonging to the Orthodox Tradition.”
The complete programme and further details will be announced in due course.
