Patriarch Daniil has set foot on Mount Athos for the first time. Today he bowed before the miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary "Portaitissa" (the Gatekeeper) at the Iviron Monastery, the Bulgarian Patriarchate said.
The patriarchate said yesterday that he would visit the Holy Mountain from 21 to 24 October at the invitation of the brotherhood of the Zograf Monastery.
Earlier on this story: Patriarch Daniil to make first visit to Mount Athos, 21-24 October
The patriarch was welcomed at Iviron with hymns and bells. Abbot Archimandrite Nathanael received him and the clergy travelling with him. Before the icon, Daniil prayed for the Bulgarian people to be kept safe and shielded by the Virgin Mary's motherly protection.
Nathanael gave the patriarch an icon, a copy of the miraculous Portaitissa. The Bulgarian clergy also bowed before other holy objects: icons and relics of saints kept by the monks.
The abbot said the visit was a great spiritual joy for him. He wished the patriarch health, strength and enlightenment to strengthen Orthodox believers and lead them to the light of the Resurrection and the freedom of Christ. "May our protector, the Portaitissa (Gatekeeper), keep and shield you with her motherly love," Archimandrite Nathanael said.
The patriarch said he too felt spiritual joy at being able to bow before the holy objects in the monastery. He said Iviron is well known in Bulgaria for its icon, and a copy is kept at the Rozhen Monastery in the Nevrokop diocese, which was once a dependency of Iviron.
Daniil served at Rozhen from 2004 to 2011, first as a hieromonk and archimandrite, then as Bishop of Dragovitia and assistant bishop to the Metropolitan of Nevrokop. He said the icon has been at Iviron since the 18th century and has helped thousands of believers, and that he had seen its help himself. "So in a way we are spiritual brothers," the patriarch said of the monks.
At the Zograf Monastery he will lead the all-night vigil and the festive divine liturgy for the feast of the 26 Zograf Martyrs.