site.btaTown of Gotse Delchev Marks 130th Anniversary of Nevrokop Diocese

Thursday saw the launch of a number of events marking the 130th anniversary of Nevrokop diocese in Southwestern Bulgaria. The two-day celebrations are organized by the Metropolitanate of Nevrokop, Gotse Delchev Municipality and SWU "Neofit Rilski".

A scientific conference dedicated to the event opened at Nevrokop Metropolitanate. This followed the welcome of His Holiness Patriarch Daniil, a procession though the city and a thanksgiving service at the St. Cyril and St. Methodius cathedral. Theologians and historians will deliver reports dedicated to Nevrokop Diocese and its history.

At the opening, the participants in the conference were addressed by Vice President Iliana Iotova, as well as by the Bulgarian Patriarch Daniil, Gotse Delchev Mayor Vladimir Moskov, SWU Rector Nikolai Marin and the Metropolitan of Nevrokop Seraphim. 

Nevrokop Diocese of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church has always been on the crossroads of history, as it lies on the borders with neighbouring peoples, Patriarch Daniil said. "It has brought together descendants of the refugees who once flooded our homeland. This explains the great hardships, deprivations, and often times poverty in which our people lived in this wonderful part of Bulgaria," he added. 

In spite of these difficulties and historical trials, however, this eparchy’s late blessed metropolitans took great care and made great efforts for the educational and spiritual revival of the people, Patriarch Daniil noted.

The Diocese of Nevrokop has a long history, a diocese that is written in golden letters not only in the history of the church in Bulgaria, but also in our long-suffering Bulgarian history, Vice President Iotova said in her address.

This spiritual temple of the Nevrokop diocese was not erected in a random place, it is the result of the overall Bulgarian struggle for an independent church, which also marked the beginning of Bulgaria's national liberation movement, the Vice President said in Gotse Delchev. In Iotova's words, without an independent church, it is unlikely that this movement would have been so strong and Bulgaria would have lived to see its freedom.

It is faith that inspired the great strength in our heroes, fighters, so that they could illuminate their path with their work and give birth to the Bulgarian nation after five centuries of slavery, Iotova said. She also recalled the period in the history of the Metropolitanate after Bulgaria got its freedom and this part of the fatherland remained for decades under Ottoman rule.

The Vice President also addressed Patriarch Daniel with gratitude for the fact that from the moment he assumed this office, he had accepted it as a mission and a vocation. 

They say that the word always wins, Iotova added and called for a return to the word and words with their true content - patriotism, kindness.