site.btaMetropolitan Anthony in Dublin: Building Church Community Is Long Process

The building of a church community is a long process, said Western and Central European Metropolitan Anthony during a meeting with representatives of the Bulgarian community in Ireland, held at the Bulgarian Embassy in Dublin on Sunday. “Just as a family is built - with mutual trust and understanding before it is created - so too is a church community a church family, where there must be complete trust among its members. Naturally, the unquestionable authority must not be a person, but the very head of the Church, who is Christ,” he added.

Earlier in the day, he led the festive Easter service at All Hallows Chapel on the grounds of the DCU Campus in Dublin. It was attended by Bulgaria’s Ambassador to Ireland Vanya Andreeva-Malakova, as well as Kiril Valchev, Milen Mitev and Milena Milotinova, the directors general of the Bulgarian News Agency, Bulgarian National Radio and Bulgarian National Television, respectively.

Metropolitan Anthony noted that, in connection with the desire to establish a Bulgarian Orthodox church community in Ireland, he would send Bulgaria’s Ambassador to Ireland Vanya Andreeva-Malakova the guidelines for the creation of a church community and a church mission, in which, according to the statutes of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the statutes of the Western and Central European Diocese, all the steps to be taken are clearly set out.

According to him, the establishment of a church community is a work in the name of the Lord, and it must be sustainable and enduring.

“Because when such a community is founded and when a church is found - and, God willing, a church of its own - and when that church is consecrated, according to the rite of consecration of the church, at the altar table where the grace of the Holy Spirit is invoked and sanctified, an angel of the Lord stands, who abides forever. Therefore, this is a very serious and responsible undertaking, which must be embraced wholeheartedly, with deep faith and much prayer in order to come to fruition,” Metropolitan Anthony said.

He added that the Bulgarian Embassy in Dublin will coordinate the establishment of a Bulgarian Orthodox church community.

The Metropolitan highlighted the good cooperation between Church and State, and also expressed gratitude to Ambassador Malakova for her initiative, organisation, enthusiasm, energy and the work she has put in, as well as to the Bulgarian national media for coming, for covering and continuing to cover the activities of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, especially abroad, because, in his words, there is a need to move forward together in order to achieve the desired success.