The Bulgarian Orthodox Church has invited Patriarch Bartholomew to take part in the celebrations honoring John of Rila

The Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church has officially invited Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew to visit Bulgaria in October of this year. The visit is timed to coincide with the celebration of significant historical anniversaries: the 1,150th anniversary of the birth and the 1,080th anniversary of the repose of St. John of Rila.

According to the Orthodoxia News Agency, the decision to extend the invitation was made at a Synod meeting on June 26, 2026. The church delegation that traveled to Istanbul to deliver the invitation from Bulgarian Patriarch Daniel included Metropolitan Naum of Ruse, Bishop Gerasim of Melnik, and Dr. Alexander Smochevsky.

The delegates’ meeting with Patriarch Bartholomew took place at the Church of Saint Kyriake in the Kontoskali district, where a solemn Divine Liturgy was celebrated. After the service, the Primate of the Church of Constantinople addressed the representatives of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church with a welcoming speech, reaffirming the importance of strengthening interchurch ties. The official events in Bulgaria, to which the patriarch has been invited, are scheduled for October 16–20.

It should be recalled that earlier, Patriarch Daniel of Bulgaria called for a measured approach to the issue of the Ukrainian church schism. Asthe Primate of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church emphasized, after the Patriarchate of Constantinople granted the Tomos to the new church structure in Ukraine in 2019, the Bulgarian Church adopted a wait-and-see stance and has not recognized this decision to date.