site.btaUPDATED Patriarch Daniil Says Bulgarian Church Will Keep Warm Memories of Visit to Istanbul
Bulgarian Patriarch and Metropolitan of Sofia Daniil said the Bulgarian Orthodox Church will keep the warmest memories of all services, brotherly meetings and events from the programme of its visit to Istanbul.
Patriarch Daniil was speaking after taking prayerful part in the Divine Liturgy at St Stephen Church (San Stefano) in Istanbul’s Yesilkоy district on Sunday. The service was led by Archimandrite Charalambos Nichev, head of the Bulgarian Orthodox community in Istanbul.
With his participation in the liturgy, Patriarch Daniil officially concluded his first peaceful visit to the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
"We are happy, even on the final day of our peaceful visit to the Mother Church, to take part in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist at a place that is dear to every Orthodox Bulgarian heart – the former suburb, today a district of this imperial city, where in 1878 the peace treaty was signed that marked the beginning of the Third Bulgarian State," Patriarch Daniil said.
He noted that the reception at the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the services at the Patriarchal Church of St George and the historic Bulgarian St Stephen Church, the memorable moments in the Metropolis of Chalcedon and at the Church of the Holy Archangels, and the final liturgy in Yesilkоy gave remarkable completeness to the visit and made it an event that will remain forever in memory.
Patriarch Daniil added that the visit will be recorded in the annals of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church as truly historic and as a clear expression of the Church’s God-blessed unity in faith and shared hope.
Expressing gratitude for the spiritual joy experienced during the visit, he wished the Ecumenical Patriarchate peaceful and blessed years ahead, in witness to Holy Orthodoxy and God’s boundless love for all people and creation.
"As heirs to our ancestors, we today are obliged to do everything possible to preserve that which unites us, namely, the peace that the Lord grants us and to which He has called us to strive to safeguard," the Patriarch told the media covering his visit. "The message we received during this visit, and which we will take back to our homeland and convey to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, is that our hearts have been filled with peace," Patriarch Daniil added.
"Glory to God, thanks to Him this brotherly communion and this opportunity to fulfil this peaceful visit has succeeded," he said further. According to the Bulgarian Patriarch, "the greatest joy truly comes from the fact that the visit is peaceful, and that we feel and see this peace within ourselves." Patriarch Daniil also noted that Istanbul "is abundantly rich in history, both for the ancient Byzantine Empire and for our Bulgarian state."
In conclusion, he said: “We remember the various difficulties in bilateral relations with the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Bulgarian Exarchate, but we rejoice that today all of this has been overcome. The message is that we must indeed strive, as our faith teaches us, to preserve this brotherly communion and the unity of faith that the Lord has commanded us to uphold. This is the central message, everything starts here. Yes, there are certain disagreements, and there are differing opinions on various church matters, but through dialogue, without breaking brotherly communion, we believe that everything can be overcome, and that God will help us in this.”
/YV/
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