site.btaUPDATED Vice President: St Stephen Church Embodies Bulgaria’s National Idea and Unity

The St Stephen Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Istanbul, known as the Iron Church, embodies Bulgaria’s national idea and national unity, Vice President Iliana Iotova said on Saturday during the church’s feast day, celebrated at the invitation of the Bulgarian Orthodox community in Turkiye.

A festive liturgy at St Stephen Church was led by Patriarch Daniil, Patriarch of Bulgaria and Metropolitan of Sofia. Speaking after the sermon, Iotova said the days of Christ’s Nativity bring faith, light, hope, and a message of peace, understanding and tolerance, values she noted are especially vital amid growing conflicts worldwide.

Iotova described the church as a place that instills a unique spiritual light and energy, symbolizing Bulgarian self-confidence. She said St Stephen was built with faith and a strong will for freedom, independence and statehood, adding that the walls of the church echo a historic affirmation of Bulgarian identity, language, culture and heritage.

She recalled the role of the Bulgarian intelligentsia in Istanbul in the 19th century in advocating freedom, education and national self-determination, and marked the 155th anniversary of the Bulgarian Exarchate by paying tribute to its founders. Iotova thanked the descendants of Bulgarians in Turkiye for preserving national identity, cultural monuments and Orthodox churches in Istanbul and Edirne.

Addressing Patriarch Daniil, Iotova said his presence and that of the Holy Synod is important for the Bulgarian community in Istanbul, for both history and the future. On behalf of the presidency, she presented the Patriarch with a blessed cross, conveying greetings from President Rumen Radev.

Iotova told reporters later that one hundred and fifty-five years of the Bulgarian Exarchate mean 155 years of Bulgarian statehood. 

She said the event was an exceptional honour because it showed that Patriarch Daniil and the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church stand firmly behind the historic Bulgarian community in Istanbul. “They show respect for the past and reverence for all those who built the history of this church, who built Bulgarian identity and Bulgarian statehood. At the same time, today also points to the future, because this community has a future and will endure through generations,” Iotova said.

The Vice President stressed that the message of peace should not be remembered only during the bright days of Christmas. “We must often recall the human wisdom and the most important legacy of Orthodoxy – that we should pursue peace. Today we are not afraid to use this word, although there were years when ‘peace’ seemed inconvenient,” she noted.

According to Iotova, in a world where human reason and wisdom have given way to conflicts, wars, division, denial and hatred, people should not be reminded only on festive days that there is another path for humanity – one based on understanding, mutual tolerance and mutual assistance.

She expressed regret that the 155th anniversary of the Bulgarian Exarchate had passed almost unnoticed in Bulgaria this year. “Apart from a few events that we organised, it is as if we are denying our own history. If Bulgaria is to have a future again, we must overcome this nihilism towards our memory and our history,” Vice President Iotova said.