Pope in Bulgaria: Sofia's Imam at Interreligious Meeting 'for Peace', Orthodox Church Refuses Dialogue

SOFIA, (Patria) - Pope Francis arrived in Bulgaria on an official visit to the country as part of a three-day visit to the Balkans, during which he will visit Bulgaria and North Macedonia.

Prime Minister Boyko Borissov welcomed His Holiness immediately upon arrival at Sofia Airport shortly before 10:00 AM on Sunday. 

 

Honour to welcome His Holiness Pope Francis in #Bulgaria. His visit is a sign for the peace and fraternity on the #Balkans - for which Bulgaria is advocating actively. I believe our country will leave him a memory of humble and peaceful people#ApostolicJourney pic.twitter.com/MV2HoiqlXY

— Boyko Borissov (@BoykoBorissov) May 5, 2019

 

After protocol meetings with the Prime Minister and President Rumen Radev, the Pope will deliver his first speech to political and civil authorities. He will then proceed to the headquarters of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church Patriarchate. 

On Monday, an interreligious meeting "for peace" will be held, which will not be attended by representatives of the Orthodox Church, which boycotts the commission for interreligious dialogue with the Vatican, but the Imam of Sofia will attend, a Vatican source said, as reported by the media. 

The Bulgarian Orthodox Church, close to Moscow, is the only one in the Orthodox world that boycotts the commission for interreligious dialogue with the Vatican. 

In Bulgaria, 82.6 percent are Orthodox believers, 12 percent are Muslims, and 0.6 percent are Catholics, or 44,000 people out of seven million inhabitants.

"I ask you to accompany my journey to Bulgaria and North Macedonia with your prayers, which I begin tomorrow as a pilgrim of peace and fraternity," the Pope wrote on Twitter.