site.btaPatriarch Daniil Meets Representatives of Union of Thracian Societies in Bulgaria, Thracian Scientific Institute

Bulgarian Patriarch Daniil Monday met with representatives of the Union of Thracian Societies in Bulgaria (UTSB), led by Chairman Krassimir Premyanov. Participating were  Krasnodar Belomorski and Mihael Valov, Deputy Chairmen of the UTSB Central Leadership, and Thracian Scientific Institute Chairman Prof Vasil Prodanov, among others. The meeting was held at the Sofia Metropolitanate and was attended by Bishop Gerasim of Melnik, Secretary General of the Holy Synod, and Alexander Smochevski, adviser on canon law to the Bulgarian Patriarch.

Premyanov informed the Patriarch that Bulgarian priests have been barred from serving in Bulgarian in the churches in Edirne and Istanbul. On March 16, in the Bulgarian St George church in Edirne, the representative of Metropolitan Amfilochios of Adrianople officiated the liturgy and read the Gospel in Greek, interrupted by the parishioners' protests. Premyanov presented a petition to Patriarch Daniil on behalf of the UTSB organization asking that services in the Bulgarian churches in Edirne and Istanbul be conducted in Bulgarian. Premyanov also talked about the history of UTSB. He said representatives of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church had always participated in the leadership of the Thracian organization.

Patriarch Daniil thanked the Union for its dedicated efforts to preserve the Bulgarian identity, while stressing the importance of strengthening educational initiatives for the younger generation. This includes promoting Christian values and virtues, and passing down traditions as a core part of national identity.