site.btaMarch 3 Should Unite Bulgarians, Patriarch Daniil Says

Bulgarian Patriarch and Sofia Metropolitan Daniil told journalists here on Monday that March 3 should unite Bulgarians. He was attending a flag-raising ceremony at the Monument of the Unknown Soldier on the occasion of Bulgaria’s National Day.

He stressed the importance of gratitude, the sense that people gave their lives for those living now to exist. This calls for humility and understanding that freedom is a gift, the Patriarch added.

He said that it is not right under political freedom to give in to dependence or addiction of any kind, for those warp the human soul. "Destructive forces are present in each one of us, but we should fight them. There is no higher virtue than that which God gives to man," the Patriarch added.

“I hope that when we assume our responsibility as human beings, God will provide the much-awaited unity, the long-awaited understanding and consensus on important things in Bulgarian history, so that March 3 will not be a day of controversy, but will be celebrated with gratitude and joy by Bulgarians,” His Holiness said.