Patriarch Daniel of Bulgaria meets with the leadership of the Georgian Orthodox Church in Tbilisi

Patriarch Daniel of Bulgaria held an official meeting with the leadership of the Georgian Orthodox Church (GOC) at the conclusion of his visit to Tbilisi, timed to coincide with the funeral of the late Patriarch Catholicos Ilia II. The sides discussed issues of strengthening inter-church ties and honored the memory of the deceased Primate of the GOC.

According to the Greek news outlet Vima Orthodoxias, the meeting took place on the morning of March 23, just before the departure of the Bulgarian delegation from Georgia. Patriarch Daniel met with Metropolitan Shio of Senaki and Chkhorotskoy, the locum tenens of the Patriarchal Throne, as well as with members of the Holy Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church. The Bulgarian delegation included Metropolitan Gavriil of Lovech, clergymen and representatives of the laity.

During the conversation, the Primate of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church expressed deep condolences on behalf of the Holy Synod of his Church on the death of Patriarch Ilia II. He particularly emphasized the magnitude of the late Patriarch’s personality and his exceptional significance for the entire Orthodox world. The participants of the meeting also touched upon the centuries-old spiritual and historical ties that have united the peoples of Bulgaria and Georgia for many centuries.

At the conclusion of the meeting, Patriarch Daniel thanked the representatives of the Greek Orthodox Church for their warm hospitality and expressed the hope that the Lord would show the Church a worthy successor capable of continuing the creative path and spiritual labors of the venerable Patriarch.