site.btaPM Glavchev, Metropolitan Gregory of Vratsa Pay Homage to Holy Relics of St. Cyril and St. Methodius at Mount Athos

Prime Minister Glavchev, the delegation he headed and His Eminence Metropolitan Gregory of Vratsa paid homage to the holy relics of St. Cyril and St. Methodius at Mount Athos, the Government information service said Friday. This considered a great honour, indicative of the good cooperation between the Bulgarian state and the spiritual community.

For the occasion, the monks took out the relics from the ossuary of Esphigmenou monastery on Mount Athos where the relics are kept. The relics of the Holy Equal-to-the-Apostles Cyril and Methodius are kept in a joint reliquary that also contains a sliver of the Venerable Wood of the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, as well as a pebble from Calvary. Part of St. Cyril’s relics, which disappeared in the Napoleonic Wars from the basilica of San Clemente in Rome where they were kept, were rediscovered by chance in 1962 and later sent to Esphigmenou monastery’s seat in Karyes.

The Bulgarian delegation paid homage to and asked blessings for the entire Bulgarian nation on the eve of the Church's glorification of the holy brothers on May 10 in Bulgaria. The Prime Minister especially thanked the Protos of Mount Athos, His Beatitude Hieromonk Stefanos, and its Civil Administrator, Anastasios Mitsialis, for the invaluable assistance provided to bring the relics of the Holy Brothers to Bulgaria two years ago. 

"Back then, tens of thousands of Bulgarians bowed before the holy relics of the Thessaloniki brothers gratitude. This was an extremely important event for Christians in our country and we appreciate it," the Prime Minister said.

In the course of the talks, the sides discussed the excellent cooperation between the institutions, thanks to which in recent years there have been no difficulties related to the double (ecclesiastic and civil) permits for the settlement of Bulgarians in St. George Zographou monastery, and that the same applies to the compulsory permits for clergy for pilgrimage to St. George. "It is a great honour for me, together with the ministers and MPs, to be in this sanctuary of Orthodoxy and the spirit, and to maintain a strong bond between Bulgaria in this exceptional place in the future," Glavchev added.

Later in the day, the Bulgarian delegation visited the Protaton, the central church of Karyes where the famed Axion Estin icon is kept. Besides Metropolitan Gregory, Glavchev is accompanied by the ministers of Education and Science Galin Tsokov, of Culture Nayden Todorov, of Tourism Evtim Miloshev, of Agriculture and Food Georgi Tahov, as well as MPs.