To mark two years since the election and enthronement of Patriarch Daniel of Bulgaria as Primate of the Orthodox Church of Bulgaria, a festive Divine Liturgy was held at the Patriarchal Cathedral of Saint Alexander Nevsky.
Before the liturgical service began, Patriarch Daniel told the media that Orthodox Christians would evaluate his pastoral ministry. ‘What brings us joy is that the Orthodox Church of Bulgaria enjoys the trust of institutions. For this reason, we can thank God and all those who support us in our work,” he said. He added that, in recent years, a favourable climate had been created for the Church’s spiritual activity and for the adoption of important legislative changes. ‘Both in the past and in the current parliament, all changes were made with a broad consensus among political parties. This is positive, and we hope it will have a good outcome,” he said.
When asked about the European Union’s package of sanctions against Russia, which also includes the Russian Patriarch, Kirill, Patriarch Daniel called for geopolitics not to be mixed with ecclesiastical matters. He also referred to a recent meeting between Pope Francis and cardinals from around the world, at which it was said that ‘the sanctions imposed by the EU concern certain states and the provision of assistance to others, but this principle is not applied in other parts of the world where there are armed conflicts, invasions and far more severe consequences for entire populations’. Such sanctions are neither accepted nor foreseen, which suggests that they may serve purely political and economic interests rather than international law,” he added.
