Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew will visit Bulgaria from 17 to 19 October for events marking 1,150 years since the birth and 1,080 years since the death of St John of Rila the Wonderworker, the Bulgarian Patriarchate said. His programme covers Sofia on 17 and 18 October and the Rila Monastery on 19 October.
Bartholomew will arrive with a delegation. On Saturday, 17 October, at 5pm, Patriarch Daniil and metropolitans of the Holy Synod will welcome him at the Synod Palace.
An hour later, the two patriarchs will open the exhibition "Mount Athos in Sofia" at the National Palace of Culture. It is on the third floor and runs until 15 November. The Sofia Holy Metropolis and Greece's foreign ministry organised it. The curator is Pavlos Trochopoulos, and the works are by the Greek artist Efthymios (Makis) Varlamis (1942–2016).
Trochopoulos told BTA on 13 October that the exhibition shows the architecture of the Athonite monasteries and the life of the monks, and carries a message of peace and harmony. He said one of the main ideas is to let women, who are not allowed to visit Mount Athos, feel the atmosphere of Athos through art. Varlamis himself wanted to take Mount Athos beyond its geographic borders and let the public feel life in the monasteries.
On Sunday, 18 October, the Bulgarian patriarch will be welcomed at the patriarchal cathedral of St Alexander Nevsky at 9am, and Bartholomew at 9:15am. The solemn hierarchal divine liturgy begins at 9:30am, and both primates will take part in prayer. At 12 noon they will hold a trisagion, a short memorial prayer, at the grave of Patriarch Neofit.
On Monday, 19 October, a festive concelebrated patriarchal divine liturgy will be held at the Rila Monastery from 9am.
The Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church sent the invitation to Bartholomew in July. A delegation led by Metropolitan Naum of Ruse met him in Istanbul. It included Bishop Gerasim of Melnik, chief secretary of the Holy Synod, and Dr Alexander Smochevski. They gave the patriarch the invitation and greetings from Patriarch Daniil and the Holy Synod. The meeting took place at the Church of St Nedelya in Kondoskali, where a divine liturgy had been held for the saint's feast day.