site.btaBulgarian Orthodox Church Calls for "Fervent Prayers" Ahead of Elections, for Overcoming "Spiritual Plagues and Divisions"

In a statement published on its official website, the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church calls for "fervent prayers" ahead of the October 27 elections, for overcoming "spiritual plagues and divisions". "Ahead of the elections, we call the Bulgarian people to fervent prayer for overcoming the spiritual plagues and divisions, for restoring the institutional foundations of Bulgarian society and state", says the statement.

It goes on to say that the Bulgarian society "is going through a spiritual and institutional crisis" and that the foundations "of its unity and organization are put to a serious test." According to the Holy Synod, what is most lacking in the modern world is repentance and the only "reliable way to unity and progress for Bulgarian people is repentance". They define repentance as "changing one's way of thinking, trusting God more than trusting oneself, giving up selfishness, individualism and the pursuit of personal interests, and thinking, living and working for God and our loved ones".