On Monday, July 1, 2024, at the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, newly elected Bulgarian Patriarch Daniel celebrated his first Patriarchal Divine Liturgy as the Primate of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. This significant day also marked the 555th anniversary of the return of the holy relics of St. John of Rila from Tarnovo to the Rila Monastery.
“The tasks ahead are many. The head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church must embody the unity of the Holy Synod and our people, as the vocation of the Church is to unite those who are divided,” stated Patriarch Daniel before the commencement of the liturgy. He emphasized that “the Church signifies unity” and that “a people are called by God to be together with Him, to be united in love.”
Reflecting on the resilience of the Rila Monastery, Patriarch Daniel remarked, “It is remarkable how through the vicissitudes endured by our country and the Rila Monastery, it always restores itself. The saint’s support and patronage are evident, showing us the way and interceding for us before God.”
He highlighted the historical significance of the day, commemorating the return of the relics of St. John of Rila to the Rila Monastery in 1469. “The Rila Monastery is the first Bulgarian national institution revived after the fall of Bulgaria under Turkish rule,” he noted.
Synodal Divine Liturgy: Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv Not Commemorated
The Patriarchal and Synodal Divine Liturgy was celebrated, during which Patriarch Daniel commemorated the Primates of the Orthodox Churches for the first time as the newly elected and enthroned Bulgarian Patriarch. He honored the heads of the Local Orthodox Churches, including the Orthodox Patriarchs: Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, Theodore of Alexandria, John X of Antioch, Theophilus III of Jerusalem, Cyril of Moscow and All Russia, Ilia II of Georgia, Porfirije of Serbia, Daniel of Romania, and the archbishops and metropolitans: George of Cyprus, Ieronymos of Athens, Sava of Poland, Anastasius of Albania, Rostislav of Bohemia and Slavia, and Stephen of Ohrid.
Notably absent from the commemoration was Metropolitan Epifaniy of Kyiv and All Ukraine. This omission aligns with Patriarch Daniel’s previously expressed views on the Ukrainian issue. In an interview shortly before his election, he stated that Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew caused the division by granting the Tomos of Autocephaly to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and affirmed his recognition of the Moscow Patriarchate’s structure in Ukraine under Metropolitan Onufriy.
Interestingly, Patriarch Daniel commemorated the Archbishop of Ohrid, despite the fact that his church has not been granted a Tomos of Autocephaly from the Ecumenical Patriarchate, whereas the Orthodox Church of Ukraine has. He referred to him as Archbishop of “North Macedonia,” following the provisional solution provided by the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church regarding the church’s name.
During the Divine Liturgy, Bishop Gerasimos, the Chief Secretary of the Holy Synod of the Church of Bulgaria, read a Patriarchal and Synodal Message to the clergy.
Photos: Basilica.ro / Translated by: Konstantinos Menyktas
