President Rosen Plevneliev awarded the Stara Planina order first class to the Archbishop of Constantinople – New Rome, Ecumenical Patriarch, His All-Holiness Bartholomew I for his efforts to promote the inter-religious dialogue and his commitment to the contemporary problems humankind faces. The solemn ceremony at the Coat of Arms hall at 2 Dondukov street was attended by His Holiness Bulgarian Patriarch Neophyte and Bishop Sofyiski, leaders of the major religious denominations in Bulgaria, representatives of the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and of the executive branch of power.
“We highly appreciate the multilateral activity of His All-Holiness devoted to the well-being of the Orthodox Church, to strengthening and enriching the understanding and tolerance among all Christians, as well as among all religious denominations in the world. His All-Holiness does not isolate the orthodox faith from the public deeds. On the contrary, he seeks its social dimensions and always tries to ensure harmony and dialogue,” Head of State Rosen Plevneliev said after awarding Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I the highest state order.
The President considered symbolic for all Bulgarians the fact that on the day of St. Archangel Michael the spiritual leaders of the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Bulgarian Orthodox Church gave blessing to all Bulgarian children, in particular to the children of those who died while performing their state duties. “Even more do we need spiritual leaders to show us the right way, to teach us a lesson in honor and commitment, to take care of the spiritual development of the youth and the public as a whole at hard times of growing public concern for the many crises throughout the world,” President Rosen Plevneliev said.
In his statement the Head of State highlighted the Ecumenical Patriarch’s commitment to the efforts pooled to cope with the plethora of challenges our time is facing – promoting dialogue and peace, fighting social inequality and climate change. “Your exceptional commitment to environmental protection makes you one of the great leaders of today who have realized that we have not inherited our nature from our parents, but have borrowed it from our children” the Bulgarian President said.
“Bulgaria is an indispensable part of the international efforts to ensure understanding and dialogue among the religions. Following a good tradition, for centuries our lands have been the home of the major world religious denominations that live in harmony. You can find a powerful symbol of such a co-existence in the center of the Bulgarian capital, a mere couple of meters away from the hall we are in now. Here, in the heart of Sofia, an orthodox church, a catholic temple, a mosque and a synagogue have been built that have co-existed in peace for centuries. As Head of State I do my best to strengthen the understanding and tolerance among the different religions in the country. All Bulgarians take pride in the peaceful co-existence of all religious communities,” Head of State Rosen Plevneliev said at the ceremony.
“Our happiness is greater than the progress you have made in the past decades and the development of your country as an EU member state and as an independent state entity in this international institution. It would like to all highlight above the special ties between Bulgaria and its Orthodox Church, on the one hand, and the Ecumenical Patriarchate that has instructed your people in the orthodox faith, on the other” Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I said in his address of thanks.
His All-Holiness pointed out that for quite a lot of centuries after the Bulgarian kingdom was destroyed in the 14th century, the Bulgarian people suffered a lot of hardships in order to preserve their orthodox faith. “It is a real miracle that despite the persecutions and massacres and the severe economic consequences entailed by the fact that the Bulgarians are Christians, your blessed people remained faithful to the faith of its fathers and preserved it, making sacrifices and leaving rivers of blood. Currently Bulgaria’s Orthodox Church is rising from the ashes and restoring its youth and your people is constantly rediscovering its roots and spirituality, seeking God and craving for His truth, which is the only one to lead it toward prosperity. The Ecumenical Patriarchate and our humbleness in person have always, today and in the past, accompanied you on the reviving spiritual road your country has taken,” His All-Holiness Bartholomew I said. The Ecumenical Patriarch also said in his statement that the Church and its deeds should be supported so that “it can fulfill its ambition to ensure a new evangelization of the people so that your Homeland can achieve well-being and progress.”
President Rosen Plevneliev and the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I highlighted the closer ties and cooperation with the Ecumenical Patriarchate, to which the Head of State’s visit to Istanbul in 2012 has also contributed.