site.btaChurch Leader Calls for Faith and Knowledge as School Year Begins

The Head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Daniil, issued a message on Monday in connection with the beginning of the new school year in Bulgaria. In it, he emphasized that school is, above all, a place of encounter – an encounter with knowledge, but also with our fellow human beings. “At school, we learn how to love,” he noted. The message was published on the website of the Bulgarian Patriarchate.

Daniil noted that for the Holy Orthodox Church, knowledge is a virtue (cf. 2 Peter 1:5–6, 8). “Darkness disappears in light – the brighter the light, the more the darkness fades; knowledge drives out ignorance – the more complete the knowledge, the further ignorance retreats,” he quoted St Dionysius the Areopagite.

“But above all forms of knowledge, there is one that is most perfect and most profound – the knowledge of God, that is, our striving to know our Lord God and Saviour to the extent that we are able. This highest form of knowledge, the knowledge of God, is inseparably linked with faith and with living according to God’s commandments. ‘Through faith we understand’ (Hebrews 11:3), says the holy Apostle Paul,” the message reads.

“May the new 2025/2026 school year be filled with health, strength, joy, and success for all teachers, students, and parents! May the Source of all wisdom, our Lord Jesus Christ, through the prayers of His Most Pure Mother, by the power of the Honourable and Life-Giving Cross, and through the intercession of all His saints, enlighten the minds and hearts of all teachers, students, and parents!” the Patriarch said.