Bulgarian Patriarch Daniil's Visit to Mount Athos Has Begun

The visit of Bulgarian Patriarch Daniil to Mount Athos has begun, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church – Bulgarian Patriarchate announced on October 21.

Patriarch Daniil visited Karyes, the administrative capital of Mount Athos. He was welcomed by the Protos of Mount Athos, Elder Georgios of Vatopedi Monastery, and the Holy Community (Iera Koinotita), the supreme administrative, legislative, executive and judicial body of the monastic community of Athos.

• Patriarch Daniil Visits Mount Athos

A prayer service was held at the cathedral church of the Dormition of the Mother of God, after which Patriarch Daniil and the clergy venerated the miraculous icon of the Mother of God, Axion Estin (“It Is Truly Meet”).

“Your visit here today is a great blessing for the fathers of Mount Athos. Your visit is not merely an official one, but also an opportunity to renew the historical and spiritual ties that unite the Bulgarian Church with Mount Athos,” Archimandrite Georgios said in his address.

He also noted that Mount Athos holds a special place in the life of Orthodox Christianity, where thousands of monks over the centuries have devoted their lives to prayer, ascetic struggle and the pursuit of perfection in Christ.

For his part, Patriarch Daniil thanked his hosts for their warm welcome and expressed his emotion at visiting Mount Athos and its holy monasteries for the first time in his capacity as Patriarch.

“Here on Mount Athos, history itself is steeped in holiness. The Most Holy Mother of God, through her miraculous icons, has protected the holy monasteries, and every place has been sanctified by the thousands of ascetics who have lived here,” Patriarch Daniil said in his address.

He emphasised the centuries-old ties between Bulgaria and Mount Athos, particularly those reflected in the hundreds of pilgrims and benefactors who support the holy monasteries.

Patriarch Daniil was also welcomed by the Governor of Mount Athos, Mr Alkiviadis Stefanos. The delegation is accompanied by His Eminence Metropolitan Apostolos of Miletus of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Abbot of the Stavropegic Holy Monastery of Saint Anastasia the Pharmakolytria in Halkidiki, northern Greece.