site.btaDivine Liturgy Held as Prelude to Bulgarian Church Patriarch's Election

A morning service and a Divine Holy Liturgy, with prayers designed specifically for the convocation of a church council, were conducted at the Synodal Chapel of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church (BOC) in Sofia on Sunday. The ceremonies were led by Archimandrite Euthymius, overseer of the Sofia Diocese.

They were attended by Metropolitan Grigorii of Vratsa, who is the interim leader of the BOC Holy Synod, the other diocesan metropolitans, the prelates of the Bulgarian Patriarchate appointed by the Holy Synod, and the delegates to the Election Council.

The Council is to elect a new BOC leader after Patriarch Neophyte passed away on March 13.

The new BOC patriarch is expected to be named on Sunday afternoon. He will be enthroned later in the day with a ceremony at the Patriarchal Cathedral of St Alexander Nevsky in Sofia.