Program of the Bulgarian Patriarch election and enthronement published

Candidates for the post of the BOC Patriarch. Photo: glasove.com

On June 30, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church will hold the Patriarchal Electoral Church Council and the enthronement of the new Bulgarian Patriarch. The BOC has published the program of the elections and enthronement.

At 5:15 AM in the Synodal Palace, a morning liturgy will be held, which will include prayers related to the Patriarchal Electoral Council. The service will be led by Archpriest Efimiy, the spiritual mentor of the Sofia Diocese. The liturgy will be attended by the Deputy Chairman of the Holy Synod, metropolitans, and hierarchs of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, as well as the delegates of the Council.

From 7:00 to 8:00 AM, the mandate commission will verify the attendance of voters by name and the validity of their credentials.

According to the program, the election of the Primate will follow this schedule:

8:00 AM – The Deputy Chairman of the Holy Synod and all metropolitans, bishops, and delegates will proceed from the Synodal Palace to the hall of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.

8:20 AM – 8:30 AM – A brief prayer at the opening of the meeting, led by the Deputy Chairman of the Holy Synod.

8:35 AM – 8:50 AM – Election of the electoral bureau by a clear vote.

8:50 AM – 9:00 AM – Members will proceed back to the building of the Holy Synod in a specified order.

9:10 AM – 9:15 AM – Official and public sealing of the ballot box.

9:15 AM – 12:00 PM – Voting.

Around 2:30 PM, the name of the newly elected Bulgarian Patriarch is expected to be announced.

The newly elected Bulgarian Patriarch, diocesan metropolitans, and hierarchs will proceed to the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky, where leaders and representatives of Local Orthodox Churches will be waiting for them in designated places.

3:00 PM – 5:45 PM – Enthronement of the newly elected Bulgarian Patriarch and a prayer service.

5:50 PM – Group photo on the central staircase of the Patriarchal Cathedral.

Representatives from 11 Local Orthodox Churches, including Patriarch Bartholomew and a 10-person delegation from the Ecumenical Patriarchate, will gather for the enthronement of the new Primate of the BOC.

It is reported that the Antiochian Church, the Polish Church, and the Church of the Czech Lands and Slovakia will not send their representatives.

On June 30 at 9:00 AM, guests will be greeted at the Metropolitan Cathedral of Saint Nedelya. Then at 10:45 AM, a trisagion (brief memorial prayer) will be performed at the grave of Patriarch Neophyte. After the election of the new patriarch, all will proceed in a procession to the St. Alexander Nevsky Memorial Church.

In the churches and monasteries of the 15 dioceses of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, as well as in the stavropegial monasteries – Rila, Bachkovo, and Troyan Monasteries, the Orthodox Theological Academy of St. Cyril and Methodius, the seminaries in Sofia and Plovdiv, and the chapel of the theological faculty of St. Clement of Ohrid, on June 30, when the speaker of the council announces the name of the newly elected Bulgarian Patriarch, the bells will ring solemnly for 30 minutes.

The BOC press service reported that for the first time, Patriarch Bartholomew will participate in the enthronement of the new Primate of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. The enthronements of BOC Patriarchs Kiril, Maxim, and Neophyte took place without his presence.

As reported by the UOJ, one of the three candidates for the Patriarchal throne of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Metropolitan Gabriel of Lovech, reminded that the head of the Orthodox Church is the Lord Jesus Christ and that there is no earthly head of all churches.

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