Patriarch Daniil is visiting Mount Athos, also known as Athos, for the first time, the Bulgarian Patriarchate said. His first stop was Karyes, where monks and the Holy Community welcomed him.

The patriarchate said yesterday that the head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church will be on Athos from 21 to 24 October at the invitation of the brotherhood of the Zograf Monastery of St George the Victorious. He will also visit other monasteries.

See also: Patriarch Daniil to make first visit to Mount Athos, 21-24 October

He is travelling with Metropolitan Seraphim of Nevrokop, Metropolitan Grigory of Vratsa, Bishop Gerasim of Melnik, chief secretary of the Holy Synod, and Bishop Kliment of Levki, vicar to the Metropolitan of the US, Canada and Australia. Archimandrite Epifaniy, protosyncellus of the Nevrokop Metropolis, Protodeacon Ivan Petkov and Deacon Simeon Borisov of the Vratsa Diocese are also in the group.

Archimandrite Georgios of the Vatopedi Monastery, the governor of Mount Athos, Alkiviadis Stefanos, and Bulgaria's consul general in Thessaloniki, Anton Markov, were among those who greeted him. The Holy Community has 20 members, one from each of the 20 monasteries on Athos, including Koutloumousiou, Karakallou and Stavronikita. It is the highest administrative, legislative, executive and judicial body of the monastic community. The monasteries are the sovereign owners of Athos and together hold its rights and territory.

Metropolitan Apostolos of Miletus of the Ecumenical Patriarchate accompanies the Bulgarian pilgrims. He is abbot of the stavropegic Monastery of St Anastasia the Deliverer from Poisons in Halkidiki, northern Greece.

A prayer service was held in the cathedral church of the Dormition of the Mother of God. Afterwards, the patriarch and clergy bowed before the miraculous icon of the Mother of God "Axion Estin".

Archimandrite Georgios called the visit a great blessing for the fathers of Mount Athos. "Your visit here is not only an official visit, but also a chance to renew historic and spiritual ties," he said. He said that over the centuries thousands of monks have given their lives to Mount Athos, where they devote themselves to prayer, ascetic struggle and the pursuit of perfection in Christ.

Patriarch Daniil thanked the monks for the warm welcome and said he was moved by his first visit to Mount Athos and its holy monasteries as patriarch. "Here on Mount Athos, history itself is steeped in holiness," he said. He said the Mother of God, with her miraculous icons, has protected the monasteries, and that ascetics have made every place holy.

The patriarch also pointed to the centuries-old ties between Bulgaria and Mount Athos, seen in the hundreds of pilgrims and benefactors from Bulgaria who support the monasteries.

The Bulgarian Patriarchate said that for centuries the monks of Mount Athos, also called the Garden of the Mother of God, have prayed for forgiveness of sins and the salvation of souls, for themselves and for the whole world.