Varna Metropolitan Bishop Kiril Buried

Varna metropolitan bishop Kiril, who was found dead on the sea beach near Varna on July 9, was buried on Thursday.

The funeral was attended by clerics, laity and officials, including President Rosen Plevneliev.

“Very bad things happened in Varna since the beginning of the year,” Plevneliev said at the funeral. He referred to the self-immolation of protester Plamen Goranov, the recent local elections – which war marked by record-low voter turnout – and the death of bishop Kiril.

Kiril's body was discovered on a beach in the exurban area of Trakata near Varna on Tuesday.

He is believed to have died from hypothermia after diving in a very cold Black Sea current.
Bishop Kiril was born as Bogomil Petrov Kovachev on June 8, 1954. He has been metropolitan bishop of Varna and Veliki Preslav since 1989.

In November 2012, Kiril was chosen as interim Patriarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church following the death of 98-year-old former Patriarch Maxim. Kiril remained interim Patriarch until February 2013, where new Patriarch Neofit was elected.

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