site.btaMetropolitans Nicholas of Plovdiv and Anthony of Western and Central Europe Celebrate First-Ever Liturgy in Bulgarian in UAE

With the blessing of Patriarch John X of Antioch, metropolitans Nicholas of Plovdiv and Anthony of Western and Central Europe celebrated the first-ever Holy Liturgy in Bulgarian in the United Arab Emirates. The service took place at the Our Lady of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church in Jebel Ali, Dubai, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church said in a press release on Sunday.

Metropolitans Nicholas of Plovdiv and Anthony of Western and Central Europe are paying an official visit to the United Arab Emirates.

Ivan Yordanov, Ambassador of Bulgaria to the UAE, and Stanislav Dimitrov, Consul General of Bulgaria in Dubai and the Northern Emirates, attended the liturgy.

Some 3,000 Bulgarian nationals live in Dubai. A year and a half ago, through the Bulgarian embassy in the UAE, they expressed their desire to establish a Bulgarian church community there, the press release of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church further reads.