site.btaHoly Synod Receives Leadership of Bulgarian Parliament

Bulgarian Patriarch and Metropolitan of Sofia Daniil and the Metropolitans of the Holy Synod received Tuesday Chair of the National Assembly Nataliya Kiselova and her deputies Raya Nazaryan, Tsoncho Ganev, Dragomir Stoynev, Hayri Sadakov, Nikoleta Kuzmanova and Radostin Vasilev, the Bulgarian Patriarchate said on its website.

Patriarch Daniil blessed the MPs and noted the importance of the interaction between the two institutions. He congratulated Nataliya Kiselova on her election as Chair of the 51st National Assembly, wished her to successfully overcome the trials and expressed satisfaction that the legislative body is now working.

Kiselova expressed hope that in the future there will be fruitful cooperation between Parliament and the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. She noted that the National Assembly relies on the support of the Church to reach an agreement for the good of all Bulgarian citizens. "Apart from being a traditional faith, our Orthodox Church has been a pillar of the Bulgarian spirit in the past centuries and we believe that it will continue to be a pillar of the spirit and help its people in difficult trials," she added. 

Patriarch Daniil stressed the role of the Church in educating the youth in the spirit of honesty, patriotism, moral virtues and traditional values. "The negative manifestations we see in our times are a direct result of the lack of spirituality," he stressed. The Patriarch also noted the importance of looking critically at ourselves, because without the discovery of mistakes there is no progress.

The meeting explored possibilities of introducing religion as a compulsory subject in Bulgarian schools. Kiselova noted that the parliamentary committees are to be constituted and expressed confidence that the relevant committee will interact successfully with the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.