Department for External Church Relations
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The memory of St. Vladimir Equal-to-the-Apostles celebrated in Sofia
On October 10, 2015, with the Blessing of His Holiness Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia and His Holiness Patriarch Neophytos of Bulgaria, a conference on ‘St. Vladimir Equal-to-the-Apostles. The Millennium of His Repose’ dated to the commemoration day of the Baptizer of Rus, took place at the Center of Culture and Information in Sofia. It was organized by the Sofia Representation of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia.
The conference was attended by Patriarch Neophytos, Bulgarian, Russian and Ukrainian church hierarchs and officials, Russian and Byelorussian diplomats, as well as representatives of the public, theological and scholarly circles.
The ROC Sofia Representation issued a commemorative medal devoted to the millennium of the repose of St. Vladimir. Before the conference began its work, Archimandrite Philip (Vasiltsev), rector of the Representation, presented this medal to Patriarch Neophytos.
Metropolitan Dometian of Vidin read out a message of greetings to the conference from the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
Messages of greetings were sent to the conference by Metropolitan Onufry of Kiev and All Ukraine, Metropolitan Hilarion of Volokolamsk, head of the Moscow Patriarchate department for external church relations (DECR), and the Russian Ambassador Yu. Isakov.
Key speeches were made by Archpriest Prof. Vladislav Tsypin, Moscow Theological Academy, Archpriest Nikolay Danilevich, Archpriest Kirill Popov, Bulgarian Orthodox Church, S. Kravets, director of the Orthodox Encyclopedia church research center, Prof. P. Pavlov, University of Veliko Tarnovo, and Prof. Doncheva-Panaitova, University of Sofia Faculty of Theology.
Archimandrite Philip (Valistsev) presented a volume of collected papers of the conference on Bulgaria-Russia: Images of Spiritual Unity, which took place in November 2014 in Sofia.
In the evening, Metropolitan Gabriel of Lovech celebrated All-Night Vigil at the St. Nicholas church of the Sofia ROC Representation.
On October 11, Metropolitan Dometian of Vidin celebrated the Divine Liturgy at the St. Nicholas Church. The Gospel was read in Bulgarian. After the Prayer of Fervent Supplication, Metropolitan Gabriel of Lovech led the congregation in a prayer for peace in Ukraine.
According to the tradition of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, during the Great Entrance, the Russian Emperor-Liberator Alexander II and all the Russian, Bulgarian and other warriors who fell for the liberation of Bulgaria from the Turkish yoke were commemorated.
The sermon was delivered by Archpriest Igor Yakimchuk, DECR. After the Dismissal, Metropolitan Anthony of Western and Central Europe read a prayer to the Holy Prince Vladimir Equal-to-the-Apostles.
Greeting the participants in the St. Vladimir commemoration days in Sofia, Metropolitan Dometian of Vidin spoke about his indelible impressions of the St. Vladimir commemoration days last July in Moscow. ‘I would like to testify to the millennium-old historical and cultural bonds of the Bulgarian Church and Bulgarian people with Holy Rus’… We as Orthodox Bulgarians have something for which we should be grateful to her, her patriarchs, clergy, the people and the God-saved army, which repeatedly delivered us from yoke’.
DECR Communication Service
Website of the ROC Sofia Representation
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