On May 16, 2025, at the headquarters of the Sofia Holy Metropolis, Patriarch Daniil of Bulgaria met with Metropolitan Philotheos of Thessaloniki from the Greek Orthodox Church.
Also present at the meeting were Metropolitan Grigoriy of Vratsa, Alexandros Katsiarras – Director of the Publishing Department of the Greek Orthodox Church, and Dr. Alexander Smochevski – Canon Law Advisor to the Metropolitan of Sofia and the Bulgarian Patriarch. The meeting was held at the request of Metropolitan Philotheos.
The guests informed the Bulgarian Patriarch about initiatives undertaken by the Holy Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the founding of its official theological journal, Theologia. The journal has been published continuously since 1923.
In honor of this anniversary, an international theological conference was held in Athens in 2023, attended by Metropolitan Grigoriy of Vratsa and Associate Professor Dr. Mariyan Stoyadinov from the Faculty of Orthodox Theology at Veliko Tarnovo University.
Metropolitan Philotheos also informed Patriarch Daniil about an upcoming international academic conference, which will take place this September in Thessaloniki as a continuation of the 2023 celebrations. This year’s conference is dedicated to the relationship between Orthodoxy and modern technologies and will feature scholars from various countries.
On behalf of Archbishop Ieronymos of Athens, Metropolitan Philotheos extended an invitation to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church to participate in this important academic forum. The conference program also includes an icon exhibition from various Balkan countries dedicated to St. Demetrios the Great Martyr of Thessaloniki.
The meeting took place in a spirit of brotherly love and joy in Christ. At the end of the meeting, Patriarch Daniil and his Greek guests exchanged commemorative gifts. This was Metropolitan Philotheos’s first visit to Bulgaria. Earlier in the day, the Greek guests venerated the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky and the historic church of Hagia Sophia – Holy Wisdom of God.
Text and photos: Sofia Holy Metropolis
