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.

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.

Politics Intrude on Paschal Celebrations in Sofia

The Paschal celebrations in the Bulgarian capital were somewhat marred this year by a disturbance in the patriarchal cathedral. The disturbance was caused by Volen Siderov, the leader of a Bulgarian opposition party, who questioned clergy giving the holy fire to President Georgi S. Parvanov (who as leader of the nation was the first layman to receive the fire) whether they served the 'atheist president' or God. 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.

Relics of St. John the Baptist in Sofia, EU

The newly discovered relics of St. John the Baptist from eastern Bulgaria are being translated to the patriarchal Cathedral of St. Alexander of the Neva in Sofia this week. They will remain in the cathedral for three days for the veneration of the faithful prior to the new style beginning of the Prophets' Fast. The full press release can be found here.