site.btaPresident, Church Leadership Discuss Relations with Expatriates

The Bulgarian state and the Bulgarian Orthodox Church (BOC) have a shared responsibility to maintain and develop relations with expatriates. The view was expressed when President Rumen Radev met with the BOC Holy Synod at the Synodal Palace in Sofia Wednesday, as quoted by the President's Press Secretariat. The meeting was part of the President's dialogue with the leaders of the BOC and the other traditional religious communities in Bulgaria.

Radev stressed the BOC's historical role in preserving the Bulgarians' national identity, achieving independence from the Patriarchate of Constantinople in 1870 and restoring Bulgarian statehood after almost five centuries of Ottoman Turkish rule (1394-1878). He and the Synod concurred that the protection of the national interests and the preservation of the cultural and historical heritage require concerted efforts from all state institutions and the BOC leadership.

They shared the view that Bulgaria has a great interest in maintaining contacts and dialogue with the Bulgarian communities abroad, and acknowledged the BOC's significant contribution in this respect. Radev said the Presidency is willing to support the BOC's spiritual mission for Orthodox Christian Bulgarians abroad in line with church canon.

The sides noted that the Orthodox Churches of Bulgaria and North Macedonia should help achieve greater closeness and free communication between the people on both sides of the two countries' common border.

Metropolitans of the Synod also met with Labour and Social Policy Minister Ivanka Shalapatova. She briefed them on her ministry's policies and expressed a desire for deeper cooperation with the BOC. Shalapatova and the Synod discussed social care for children and young people, the need to pay special attention to early childhood development, and care for lone parents and elderly people.