Bulgarian Orthodox Church

On May 24 we celebrate the Day of Bulgarian Education and Culture and the Slavonic Literature. This day is dedicated to the holy brothers Cyril and Methodius - the creators of the Slavonic script.

"In the person of Pope Francis, we have a great friend of Bulgaria," Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov said on 7th of May shortly after the Pope left Bulgaria following a three-day apostolic journeyto the country. The Pope flew to Skopje, North Macedonia, reports BNT.

The visit of Pope Francis has become an occasion for all kinds of discussions.

Bulgarian Orthodox Church Metropolitan of Rousse, Naum, comments on Pope's visit to Bulgaria

After a tightly-packed three-day programme, Pope Francis left Bulgaria on Tuesday morning with a call for the country to continue "building peace and bridges" with its neighbours.

"Keep building peace, sow goodness," the pontiff told Prime Minister Boyko Borissov, who saw him off as he departed for North Macedonia for the next leg of his Balkan trip.

Pope Francis's apostolic journey to Bulgaria continues today. The head of the Roman Catholic Church arrived yesterday in Bulgaria, under the motto "Peace to the Earth" - the title of the encyclical, written in 1963 by Pope John XXIII, also known as the "Bulgarian Pope," Archbishop Angelo Roncalli.

The celebrations commenced on the occasion of 143 years since the announcement of the April Uprising.

Tonight there will be a commemorative fireworks in Koprivshtitsa.

The culmination of the celebrations is on May 1st. There will be concerts and celebrations, as well as reconstruction of the April Uprising moments.

Representatives of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church will not participate in any of the events during Pope Francis' visit to Bulgaria. The exception is the meeting of Patriarch Neofit with the Pope in the Holy Synod, a decision of the Holy Synod (Bulgaria's Orthodox Church's governing body) said on 3rd of April.

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Ekaterina Zaharieva described the statement of Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevluth Chavusoglu as extremely unacceptable. In front of journalists in the Council of Ministers, Zaharieva has announced she is ready to be heard in the National Assembly on the subject and has no concerns to answer all the questions, reports Darik. 

Religious denominations in Bulgaria would allowed to be funded by foreign countries. This is voted by the parliament, rejecting the proposal that religions in Bulgaria receiving a state subsidy should not be entitled to receive donations from foreign countries or foreigners.
 

Two major celebrations are taking place on February 14 in Bulgaria, with Valentine's day coinciding with the national feast of wine and vine.