Patriarch Neophyte of Bulgaria is sure that the war Russia is waging on Ukraine is a “clash of brothers.” In his New Year’s address, the patriarch voiced no condemnation for the Russian Orthodox Church over supporting the Russian war.
“Over the past year, our life was marked by the tragedy of the fratricidal war that broke out in the very heart of Christian Europe, in fraternal Orthodox Ukraine,” the head of the Bulgarian Church said, the press service of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church quoted him as saying. “This is a conflict in which brothers in faith and relatives faced each other; a conflict that will reverberate for decades, sowing the seeds of enmity for generations to come.”
He further added that “this misfortune” also affected the lives of Orthodox Bulgarians, “causing disagreements and contradictions” in society and the country, overshadowing church and public life.
The Bulgarian Patriarch called for sincere prayers to the Heavenly Father for the softening of hardened hearts and recalled the Savior’s words that ” every kingdom divided against itself is brought to desolation; and every city or house divided against itself shall not stand ” (Matt. 12:25).
“Let the New Year 2023 be a year of deep and sincere repentance for one’s sins, a year of goodwill and restoration of peace throughout the world. Only in this way will we be able to build our lives and the lives of our children by God’s holy will, achieving God’s plan and the divine purpose with which man was created,” the patriarch said.
Earlier, the Speaker of the Bulgarian Parliament visited the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
