site.btaPatriarch Daniil Suggests August 15 to Be Designated as Official Holiday

The head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Daniil, suggested Thursday that the feast day of the Dormition of the Theotokos be designated an official holiday on a par with Christmas and Easter, like it is in neighbouring Greece and Romania. He was speaking to the press after officiating at a patriarchal liturgy in the Church of the Dormition of the Theotokos in the southern town of Kyustendil. 

He said that many municipalities have declared the day a holiday. "If the population [in these municipalities] celebrate this day, then the time is near when this day will be declared an official holiday in Bulgaria, which would be wonderful," he said.

Attending the liturgy in Kyustendil were also Metropolitan Grigorii of Osogovo and Metropolitan Iosif of the Republic of North Macedonia. Asked by BTA how this joint service should be interpreted, Patriarch Daniil said it is "an example of unity and love". "Today the Republic of North Macedonia celebrate, old-style, the transfer of the relics of First Deacon Stefan. They fast on this day but still they came here for this joyous event. Isn't it an example of love? That is why we say that love overcomes sin and differences and stands above all. This is an example of unity and love in the Orthodox Church," he said.