Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew Receives Bulgaria’s Highest Church Award

Photo: Ecumenical Patriarch/Facebook

ISTANBUL — Bulgarian Pat. Daniel on December 25, 2025, awarded Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew the highest distinction of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, the Order of St. John of Rila, First Class, in recognition of his role in helping overcome the schism that affected the Bulgarian Church in the 1990s.

The award ceremony took place at the residence of the Ecumenical Patriarchate at the Phanar during the official post-Nativity visit of the Bulgarian Church delegation. Speaking on behalf of the Holy Synod, Pat. Daniel highlighted Pat. Bartholomew’s decisive contribution to organizing the Pan-Orthodox Council held in Sofia in 1998, which was convened at the initiative of the Bulgarian Patriarchate. He stressed that the conciliar decisions of that gathering brought a canonical resolution to the long-standing schism.

In his response, Pat. Bartholomew expressed gratitude for the honor, recalling that he acted at the invitation of the late Pat. Maxim and describing his involvement as a pastoral duty at a critical moment. He also commemorated the primates who participated in the 1998 Council, including Pat. Alexy II of Moscow and Abp. Christodoulos of Athens.

Previously, the UOJ reported that the EP had presided over a Divine Liturgy at the restored nineteenth-century Bulgarian church of St. John of Rila in Constantinople.

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