Just a few days after he concluded his journey to Great Britain,His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew continued his European outreach when he arrived in Bulgaria on 7 November.On Sunday 8 November,Patriarch Bartholomew was greeted by his host,His Holiness Neofit,Patriarch of All Bulgaria,in front of St.Alexander Nevsky cathedral in the Bulgarian capital Sofia.The two hierarchs then concelebrated the Divine Liturgy in the cathedral to mark the St.Michael and All Angels feast day.Also attending the service were delegations from the Russian Orthodox Church;the Romanian Orthodox Church;diplomats;and the former Bulgarian king Simeon Saxe-Coburg.
His All Holiness praised the Bulgarian people for having stood up to the 500 years of Ottoman rule the country endured,adhering to the Orthodox faith brought to them by Sts.Cyril and Methodius.They had been the first people to accept baptism en masse.
It is a miracle that despite persecutions,massacres,severe economic aftermaths,your blessed people remained true to the faith of their fathers,Patriarch Bartholomew noted.
For his part,Patriarch Neofit said he was grateful for the support the Ecumenical Patriarchate has always shown to Bulgaria.*
On Monday 9 November,His All Holiness was received by President Rosen Plevneliev,who awarded him the country's highest honour,the Stara Planina Order first degree.President Plevneliev said Patriarch Bartholomew is an outstanding personality with immense influence in both the Orthodox and global world.His All Holiness does not isolate the Orthodox faith from the public deeds;and just the opposite:he always seeks harmony through dialogue.*
Patriarch Bartholomew was then to receive a Doctor Honoris Causa degree from the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences,as well as meet with Prime Minister Boyko Borisov.
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