Pan-Orthodox Funeral for Bulgarian Orthodox Patriarch Held in Sofia

This past Friday the Bulgarian Orthodox Church held the funeral of newly reposed Patriarch Maxim (Minkov) of Sofia in the Bulgarian capital's Cathedral of St. Alexander of the Neva. The funeral was concelebrated by Patriarchs Bartholomew (Arhondonis) and Irenaeus (Gavrilovic) of the Constantinopolitan and Serbian Orthodox Churches, Archbishops Jerome II (Liapis) and Anastasius (Yannoulatos) of the Greek and Albanian Orthodox Churches, and hierarchs and clergy of the Church of Bulgaria and other Local Orthodox Churches. Archbishop Stephen (Veljanovski) of the Macedonian Orthodox Church was also present, and met with Patriarchs Bartholomew and Irenaeus after the funeral services.

May Patriarch Maxim's memory be eternal! More here and, in Macedonian, here.

Bulgarian Orthodox Primate Marks 41 Years as Patriarch

The Bulgarian Orthodox Church yesterday marked the 41st anniversary of the election of Patriarch Maxim (Minkov) to the Sofia Patriarchate with celebratory services in Sofia's Cathedral of St. Alexander of the Neva concelebrated by the Church's hierarchs in Bulgaria. More in Bulgarian here.

Russian Orthodox Patriarch Completes Visit to Bulgaria

Patriarch Cyril (Gundyayev) of Moscow has completed a visit to Bulgaria. During his time in Bulgaria the Russian Orthodox patriarch met with Patriarch Maxim (Minkov) of Sofia and other members of the Bulgarian Orthodox Holy Synod to discuss relations between the Russian and Bulgarian Orthodox Churches as well as with the President of Bulgaria. More here and here.

Bulgarian Orthodox Patriarch Turns 97

Patriarch Maxim (Minkov) of Sofia has marked his 97th birthday with visits to Bulgaria's Bachkovo Monastery and the diocesan cathedral in Plovdiv. The patriarch has spent 40 of his 97 years as first hierarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. More (in Bulgarian) here.

Service for Bulgarian Unity Held in Sofia

Patriarch Maxim (Minkov) of Sofia and ten of the ruling metropolitans of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church have concelebrated a supplication for the unity and peace of the Bulgarian nation in Sofia. The supplication is held as Bulgaria grows increasingly troubled by economic, ethnic, and security concerns, the most recent being anti-Roma protests organized by a Bulgarian ultranationalist party over national concerns over organized crime. An appeal from the Holy Synod for the unity of the nation was read following the supplication. More (in Bulgarian) here.

40th Anniversary of Patriarch Maxim's Enthronement Celebrated in Sofia

Celebrations are being held today in Sofia, Bulgaria, to mark the 40th anniversary of the enthronement of Patriarch Maxim (Minkov) of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. Delegations representing the Constantinopolitan, Alexandrian, Jerusalemite, Russian, Georgian, Serbian, Cypriot, Greek, Albanian, Polish, and Czechoslovak Orthodox Churches are present in the Bulgarian capital to participate in the celebratory Sunday Liturgy served this morning in Sofia's Cathedral of St. Alexander of the Neva.

Archbishop Chrysostomos II (Demetriou) of the Cypriot Orthodox Church and Metropolitan Christopher (Pulec) of the Czechoslovak Orthodox Church are present in person to participate in the celebrations. More (in Bulgarian) here.

Bulgarian Orthodox Church Commemorates Exarch Joseph I

This past Saturday the Bulgarian Orthodox Church commemorated Exarch Joseph (Yovchev) of Sofia, the second head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church after the restoration of its autocephaly in 1872. The Divine Liturgy was led by a patriarchal auxiliary, Bishop Tikhon of Tiveropol, whilst the memorial that followed it was concelebrated by Patriarch Maxim (Minkov) of Sofia and Metropolitans Dometian of Vidin, Neofit of Ruse, Bishop Tikhon, and patriarchal auxiliary Bishop Ioan of Znepole at Exarch Joseph's tomb. More (in Bulgarian) here.

Sofia Celebrates Sts. Cyril and Methodius

Although on the revised calendar the Bulgarian Orthodox Church joined in national celebrations in Sofia today in honor of Sts. Cyril and Methodius and their literary, cultural, and spiritual legacy amongst the Bulgarian people. Patriarch Maxim (Minkov) of Sofia attended official celebrations at Sofia's monument to the Saints, whilst his auxiliary Bishop Ioan of Znepolska offered a prayer during the ceremonies. More (in Bulgarian) here.

Bulgarian and Russian Orthodox Hierarchs Discuss Inter-Orthodox Relations

Patriarch Maxim (Minkov) of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and Metropolitan Hilarion (Alfeyev) of Volokolamsk of the Russian Orthodox Church have met together with other hierarchs of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Sofia, Bulgaria, to discuss relations between the two sister Orthodox Churches and recent developments in relations between all the Local Orthodox Churches. More (in Russian) here.

Update (17/5/2011): An English-language report on the meeting can be found here.

Bulgaria Celebrates 58th Anniversary of Patriarchate's Restoration

This morning Patriarch Maxim (Minkov) of Sofia led services in Sofia's Cathedral of St. Alexander of the Neva to celebrate the new style feast of Sts. Cyril and Methodius and the 58th anniversary of the restoration of the patriarchate of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. The festal services was concelebrated by Metropolitan Neofit (Dimitrov) of Ruse and the patriarchal auxiliary bishops. More (in Bulgarian) here.

Bulgaria Prepares to Celebrate Restoration of Patriarchate

The Bulgarian Orthodox Church is preparing to celebrate the 58th anniversary of the restoration of its patriarchate. Tomorrow's celebratory services in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, will be led by Patriarch Maxim (Minkov) of Sofia and other hierarchs of the Church of Bulgaria. More (in Bulgarian) here.

Patriarch Maxim, Holy Synod Meet with Bulgarian PM

Patriarch Maxim (Minkov) of Sofia and members of the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church met today with Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko M. Borisov to discuss aspects of life in Bulgaria in which the Bulgarian government and the Church of Bulgaria can work together for the good of the nation. More here.

New Martyrs of Batak Glorified in Sofia

This past Sunday the glorification of the New Martyrs of Batak and the Turkish Yoke was celebrated in the patriarchal Cathedral of St. Alexander of the Neva in Sofia, Bulgaria. Patriarch Maxim (Minkov) of Sofia led the services, which were concelebrated by 10 diocesan metropolitans and 13 auxiliary bishops of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.

In addition to the concelebrating hierarchs, President Georgi S. Parvanov of Bulgaria and the representatives of the Russian and Romanian Orthodox Churches in Sofia as well as of the Zographou Monastery on Mount Athos also participated in the services. More here (in Bulgarian) and here (in English).

Bulgarian Orthodox Church Receives OCA Bulgarian Orthodox Parish in Toronto

With the blessing of Patriarch Maxim (Rachev) of Sofia, Metropolitan Joseph (Bosakov) of New York of the patriarchal Bulgarian Orthodox Church in North America and Australia has received St. George's Church in Toronto, formerly a parish of the Bulgarian Orthodox Diocese of Toledo and North America of the American Orthodox Church, into his care.

There is no notice of the transfer on the website of the OCA and no indication of whether the transfer occurred with the blessing of Bishop Melchisedek (Pleska) of Pittsburgh, locum tenens of the OCA's Bulgarian Orthodox Diocese, or not. The transfer comes not long after the announcement of episcopal candidates for the OCA's diocese, neither of whom were of Bulgarian or Macedonian heritage and one of whom was actually Greek. More here.

Update (2:02pm): I've just heard back from the office of Bishop Melchisedek and am told that he said that St. George's Church "has not been released to any other jurisdiction."

Athonite Delegation Visiting Bulgaria

An official delegation from Mount Athos is visiting Bulgaria for the first time since 1976 with the blessing of Patriarch Maxim (Minkov) of Sofia and the President of Bulgaria. More here.

Patriarch Maxim "Alive and Well"

Despite rumors to the contrary circulating in Bulgaria 96-year old Patriarch Maxim of Sofia is "alive and well" and concelebrated this past Sunday Liturgy with other senior hierarchs of the Church of Bulgaria at the synodal Church of St. Boris in Sofia.

Patriarch Maxim was elected first hierarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church under the Communists, but was retained as patriarch after the overthrow of Communism in the country despite his offer in the 1990s to retire. More here.

Prime Minister of Russia Meets with the Patriarch of Bulgaria

This past Sunday Prime Minister Vladimir V. Putin of Russia visited St. Alexander of the Neva's Cathedral in Sofia, Bulgaria, to venerate the relics of St. John there and to meet with Patriarch Maxim of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. The Moscow Patriarchate's press release on the visit can be found here.