On November 22, a meeting took place at the Synodal Building of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Sofia between Patriarch Daniel of Bulgaria and the Chairman of the Department for External Church Relations of the Moscow Patriarchate, Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk.
Also participating in the meeting were Metropolitan Gregory of Veliko Tarnovo, Metropolitan Gabriel of Lovech, the Chief Secretary of the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Bishop Gerasim of Melnik, Advisor to the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, Archpriest Nikolai Balashov, Deputy Chairman of the DECR, Archpriest Igor Yakimchuk, Representative of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia to the Patriarch of Bulgaria, Archpriest Vladimir Tyshchuk, and Assistant to the Chairman of the DECR, Priest Alexander Ershov.
The Primate of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church warmly welcomed the guests, expressing his joy at the arrival of representatives of the Russian Orthodox Church in Bulgaria during the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the consecration of the Alexander Nevsky Patriarchal Cathedral in Sofia.
In response, Metropolitan Anthony sincerely thanked the Patriarch for the invitation and the opportunity to participate in the celebrations, noting that this visit was yet another vivid testament to the unity between the Bulgarian and Russian Orthodox Churches. He also conveyed greetings from Patriarch Kirill of Moscow.
During the meeting, the participants discussed various issues concerning the development of relations between the two fraternal Orthodox Churches and exchanged views on the state of global Orthodoxy, particularly regarding the religious situation in Ukraine.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Metropolitan Anthony and Patriarch Daniel exchanged commemorative gifts.
