The Head of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine congratulated the newly elected Patriarch of Bulgaria

The head of the OCU reminded the new head of the Bulgarian Church of the common past of our Churches.

"Our two Churches are daughters of the Great Church of Christ in Constantinople, from which St. Boris, the King of Bulgaria and St. Volodymyr, the Grand Prince of Kyiv, received baptism for their peoples, including them in a single European civilizational space. Bulgaria and Ukraine have paid a high price for preserving and protecting this Christian and European choice and their unique place in history," Metropolitan Epifaniy's letter reads. Its full text is provided below:

To His Holiness DANIEL,
Patriarch of Bulgaria, Metropolitan of Sofia,
Primate of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church

Your Holiness!
On behalf of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine and my own, I congratulate you on your election and enthronement as the Bulgarian Patriarch.

By His ineffable Providence, the Head of the Church, Our Lord Jesus Christ, called you to the high and responsible ministry of the Primate of the ancient local Bulgarian Orthodox Church glorified by many ascetics and saints. Congratulating Your Holiness on the occasion of Your ascension to the Patriarchal throne, I prayerfully wish You good health and blessed years of fruitful service for the benefit of the Church, the pious Bulgarian people and all Orthodoxy.

Our two Churches are daughters of the Great Church of Christ in Constantinople, from which St. Boris, the King of Bulgaria and St. Volodymyr, the Grand Prince of Kyiv, received baptism for their peoples, incorporating them into a single European civilizational space. Both Bulgaria and Ukraine have paid a high price for preserving and protecting this Christian and European choice and their unique place in history.

Since the beginning of the spread of the Gospel of Christ in our lands, the Churches of Bulgaria and Ukraine have maintained deep spiritual and cultural ties. With gratitude, we remember the late Patriarch Neophytos, who condemned Russian aggression against Ukraine and showed compassion for the Ukrainian people who suffered from the genocidal war. We hope that Your Holiness will continue to raise the voice of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church against Russian crimes in the name of the victory of truth and a just peace for Ukraine, Europe and the world.

We pray for you and the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and ask for your prayers for our Local Church and Ukraine.

With love in Christ –

EPIFANIY,
Metropolitan of Kyiv and All Ukraine,
Primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine