The patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Daniel, received on Friday the Bulgarian ambassador to Bucharest, Radko Vlaykov, the importance of the two sister Orthodox Churches in the history and spirituality of the two peoples being addressed during their meeting, a press release of the Sector of Church, Interreligious Relations and External Church Communities of the Romanian Patriarchate, reads, write Agerpres.

PF Daniel wished the guest a fruitful and beautiful diplomatic mission in our country.

„His Beatitude Daniel mentioned the importance of exchanges of theological students in strengthening fraternal ties between the two Orthodox Churches, as well as the need to organize pilgrimages to holy places in Romania and Bulgaria, especially to the relics of St. Paraskevi of Iasi, who is much loved by the Bulgarian people, and to the relics of St. Demetrios the New, Protector of Bucharest, originally from Basarabov, Bulgaria. They also tackled the topic of the presence of the Bulgarian community in Romania, which, using the example of the Romanian Orthodox Community in Sofia, is taking the necessary steps to build its own place of worship in Bucharest,” the source says.

The BOR patriarch also highlighted the importance of preserving and promoting the Christian faith in the context of today’s world, „marked by new ideologies that emphasize immanent materialistic goals, without a transcendent perspective of life.”

In his turn, the Bulgarian diplomat, who was on a presentation visit to the Patriarchate, stressed the very good ties between Romania and Bulgaria, recalling the previous meeting, in 2022, on the occasion of the proclamation of the canonization of St. Teofana Basarab, which represents a bridge between the Romanian and Bulgarian people.