site.btaBulgarian Delegation Meets Expatriates in Ireland

Bulgarian delegation held a meeting with representatives of the Bulgarian community in Ireland, held at the Embassy of Bulgaria in Dublin on Sunday. The delegation included Western and Central European Metropolitan Anthony, as well as Kiril Valchev, Milen Mitev and Milena Milotinova, the directors general of the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA), Bulgarian National Radio (BNR) and Bulgarian National Television (BNT), respectively. Bulgaria’s Ambassador to Ireland Vanya Andreeva-Malakova also took part in the meeting

Earlier in the day, they attended the festive Easter service at All Hallows Chapel on the grounds of the DCU Campus in Dublin, led by Western and Central European Metropolitan Anthony. It was the first led by a Bulgarian Metropolitan and conducted in Bulgarian in Ireland since 2011.

Bulgaria’s Ambassador to Ireland Vanya Andreeva-Malakova expressed hope that in the future there will be a Bulgarian church in Ireland "with a permanently open door for Bulgarians in moments of happiness, joy, sorrow, and the search for comfort." “So I rely on all of you in the future to lay the foundations together, with the support of the Embassy, the State, and above all the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, so that we may reach that moment,” she added.

During the meeting, Western and Central European Metropolitan Anthony said that building a church community is a long process. 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.

BTA Director General Kiril Valchev said that Bulgaria needs the return of Bulgarians from around the world, as fewer people remain in the country – 2.5 million fewer compared to 35 years ago. "We know that after the difficult process of settling abroad, it is hard to settle again in Bulgaria – BTA is already reporting on the opportunities for this in its ‘I Choose Bulgaria’ column and supports the ‘Bulgaria Wants You’ initiative. With its regular coverage of news from Bulgarian universities, BTA is also facilitating the return of young Bulgarians abroad as students,” he said.

BNR Director General Milen Mitev told the representatives of the Bulgarian community in Ireland that "BNR, BNT and BTA are your media". “We are the media for all Bulgarians, so always reach out to us whenever you want something you do to be heard and seen in Bulgaria and around the world. Reach out to us when you have a problem you want to be publicized so that it can be resolved more easily. Reach out to us for good things, reach out to us for unpleasant things, reach out to us for anything you believe we can help you with,” he urged.

BNT Director General Milena Milotinova stressed that Bulgarian diaspora living beyond the country’s borders is part of Bulgaria, and not a small part at that. “Bulgarians abroad are our mission. This is the other Bulgaria that we must get to know better and present more often in the national media, both with their problems and their joys, with their Sunday schools, folklore ensembles, singing groups, which are so numerous - they are in the hundreds,” she added.