Bulgarian Patriarch Daniil to Make First Visit to Mount Athos from 21 to 24 October

Bulgarian Patriarch Daniil will make his first visit to Mount Athos from 21 to 24 October, the Bulgarian Patriarchate announced. He will visit the monastic republic at the invitation of the brotherhood of the Zographou Monastery (also known as the Zograf Monastery or Saint George the Zograf Monastery).

The head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church – Bulgarian Patriarchate will also visit other holy monasteries and meet the Holy Community, the supreme administrative, legislative, executive and judicial body of the monastic community of Mount Athos.

Patriarch Daniil will preside over the all-night vigil marking the feast of the 26 Holy Martyrs of Zograf, who gave their lives for the Orthodox faith and were burned by the Latins in 1274. He will also meet and hold discussions with the monastery’s brotherhood and venerate the holy relics preserved at the Bulgarian monastery, the Patriarchate said.

Mount Athos is home to Orthodox monasteries, while its principal town and administrative centre is Karyes.

On 4 February, Bulgaria’s outgoing government approved €1.5 million in capital expenditure to continue work on the road linking the port with the Monastery of St George the Great Martyr on Mount Athos, the government press service announced at the time.

The funding will help ensure that the many pilgrims from Bulgaria and abroad can visit the monastery, which forms part of a cultural heritage site of global significance included on UNESCO’s World Heritage List. It will also make access to the monastery easier and safer, the Council of Ministers said at the time.

Source: BTA