Bulgarian Patriarch to Serve Prayer for National Unity on August 6

A public prayer for national unity and moral transformation of the Bulgarian people will be held at 6.30 pm on August 6 at the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia.

The prayer service coincides with the Feast of the Transfiguration of Christ.

The public prayer was requested in an open letter of a group of Bulgarian intellectuals, including Prof Kalin Yanakiev, Prof Tsocho Boyadzhiev, Toni Nikolov, Yuliana Nikolova, Borislav Mavrov, Rumyana Shishkova, Prof Bozhidar Kunchev, Georgi Tenev, and Vlado Rumenov, to Patriarch Neofit.

Drawing attention to the ongoing mass anti-government rallies across the country and the persistent public discontent, they cautioned about attempts at driving a wedge between groups of people and causing internal division on the basis of a number of principles.

They argued that these attempts to cause division within society could lead to grave consequences and call for a public prayer service aimed at resolving the crisis "which is socio-politiocal, but most of all spiritual."

The authors of the letter also called for holding simultaneous prayers for national unity in churches all over the country.

On June 20, nearly a week after the start of mass nationwide anti-government protests in Bulgaria, Patriarch Neofit issued a statement expressing concern over the breach of the peace and justice in society.

"When the people feel that justice has been violated, the people are free to express their disagreement with the actions of those who have been entrusted with the responsibility of governing the country and of taking care of the welfare of its citizens," Patriarch Neofit said, as cited by dnevnik.bg.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!