Patriarch Daniel of Bulgaria has addressed a message to teachers, parents, and students on the occasion of the start of the new school year 2026-2027, emphasizing that education cannot be limited to the acquisition of knowledge alone, but must also be connected to the cultivation of conscience, responsibility, self-discipline, and love.
The Primate of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church particularly addresses the responsibility of parents and educators in the upbringing of children, calling on the former to be genuinely present alongside them and on the latter to serve as examples both of love for knowledge and of selfless love for one’s fellow human beings.
At the same time, he expresses his support for the efforts of recent governments to introduce the subject “Virtues and Religions” into the compulsory curriculum of Bulgarian schools, describing it as an important step toward overcoming the conflict between science and Orthodox spirituality.
Read below the message of Patriarch Daniel of Bulgaria:
ESTEEMED EDUCATORS,
BELOVED PARENTS,
BELOVED STUDENTS,
BELOVED BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN THE LORD,
We extend to you from our hearts our warmest wishes on the occasion of the beginning of the new school year 2026-2027. After the summer holidays, you are all glad to meet again — the students having advanced one more grade, the teachers and parents having gained a little more maturity. We share your joy and emotion, and especially that of the youngest children, who are crossing the threshold of school for the first time and entering the vast world of education and knowledge.
The desire to explore and to know the world in which we live has been imprinted within us since the creation of humankind. For us Bulgarians, who have made a substantial contribution to the development of letters and education among the Slavic peoples, love of learning is one of our traditional virtues and an inseparable part of our national identity.
That is why, together with the enthusiasm and joyful feelings of the first day of school, we begin the new school year bearing in mind certain important lessons as well. Following the recently announced results of the international assessment of students, and also under the weight of incidents of violence that have recently shaken our society, the depth of the words of the Holy Apostle Paul is revealed before us in a new light: “…and though I understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; … and have not love, I am nothing” (1 Cor. 13:2).
Indeed, for the formation of a mature human personality, the acquisition of knowledge alone is not enough. Our conscience and our will, our discernment and self-discipline also hold a decisive place. It goes without saying that, without the cultivation of the spiritual powers of the young person and without the acquisition of the ability to distinguish good from evil, to choose the good and to defend it, education will continue to present a serious gap.
Therefore, all the state and social institutions that bear responsibility for the education and upbringing of our children must make every possible effort to bridge these gaps. First place in this endeavor belongs to the responsibility of parents, because it was to them above all that God entrusted the care of the children He gave them.
Dear parents, even the little time you devote daily to your children, listening to what they experience, their joys and difficulties at school, and taking an interest in how they are coping in the school environment, is for them a powerful support and encouragement. It helps them feel that they are not alone, but that they have beside them the support of the people closest to them. Rest assured that even such a small drop of love is capable of changing both you yourselves and the lives of your children!
Dear educators, strive to be an example of love for knowledge, but also of selfless love for one another, so that in the hearts of your students there may grow and take root not only a thirst for learning, but also respect, patience, care, and selfless love for one’s fellow human beings.
Dear students, love and respect your parents and your teachers. They give the best they have for you. With God’s help, strive to be responsible and consistent in your duties.
At this point, we would like to express our gratitude and our support for the efforts of recent governments to introduce the subject “Virtues and Religions” into the compulsory curriculum of Bulgarian schools. We believe this represents an important step toward overcoming the artificially imposed conflict between science and Orthodox spirituality, whose unity has been a tradition of our homeland’s education since the time of the Christianization of our people. The most precious fruit of this unity are the Saints who emerged and shone forth from among our people.
May God preserve and strengthen all of us in the sacred work of educating and raising the children of Bulgaria!
We wish you a successful, fruitful, and blessed new school year 2026-2027!
† DANIEL
METROPOLITAN OF SOFIA
AND PATRIARCH OF BULGARIA
