10.05.2024
Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev, the delegation that he heads and His Eminence Metropolitan Grigoriy venerated the holy relics of St. Cyril and St. Methodius in Mount Athos (Sveta Gora). This act is seen as a great honor and is a sign of the good relationship between the Bulgarian authorities and the monastic community in Mount Athos.
The monks opened the monastery’s treasury to take out the holy relics of the Slav Bulgarian enlighteners Cyril and Methodius for the veneration of the Bulgarian delegation that pleaded for a blessing over the Bulgarian nation on the eve of the religious glorification of the saintly brothers tomorrow in Bulgaria. The Prime Minister specially thanked the Protoepistha of Mount Athos His Reverence Hieromonk Stefan and the Civil Governor of Mount Athos Anastasios Mitsialis for their precious assistance to bring the relics of the saintly brothers to Bulgaria two years ago. “Tens of thousands of Bulgarians who are believers venerated the holy relics of the Thessalonian Brothers to express gratitude then. That was an extremely important event for the Christians in our country and we appreciate it,” the Prime Minister said as he expressed his gratitude.
The discussion with the leading ecclesiastics touched on the excellent institutional interaction owing to which in recent years there had been no difficulties with the double (ecclesiastical and civil) permits for Bulgarians to settle in Mount Athos while the procedure is valid for the mandatory permits for clergy to make a pilgrimage to Mount Athos. “It is a great honor for me, together with the Cabinet Ministers and the Members of Parliament, to be in this holy place of the Orthodox faith and of the spirit and to maintain as heretofore a strong relation between Bulgaria and this exceptional place,” Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev said further.
The gift for Prime Minister Dimitar Glavchev was an honorary commemorative plaque depicting The Ascension of Our Lord, the feast day of the Esphigmenou Monastery.
The Bulgarian delegation’s pilgrimage to Mount Athos continued with a visit to the Protaton Church (the Catholicon of Mount Athos). The delegation is to attend the feast of the patron saint of the Zograf Monastery St. George the Great Martyr. In his pilgrimage to Mount Athos the Prime Minister is accompanied by His Eminence Grigoriy, Metropolitan of Vratsa and Deputy Head of the Holy Synod, the Minister of Education and Science Prof. Galin Tsokov, the Minister of Culture Nayden Todorov, the Minister of Tourism Evtim Miloshev, the Minister of Agriculture and Food Georgi Tahov and Members of Parliament.
