Patr. Daniel Prays for Patr. Bartholomew’s Departed Relatives on Imbros
Patr. Daniel honored the family of Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew by offering memorial prayers at their graves on the Patriarch’s native island of Imbros.
IMBROS, TURKEY — Patr. Daniel of Bulgaria offered a Trisagion service on June 11 at the graves of members of the family of Patr. Bartholomew, honoring the memory of the Ecumenical Patriarch’s parents and sister during a visit to the island of Imbros.
The memorial prayers took place in the village of Agioi Theodoroi on Imbros, the birthplace of Patr. Bartholomew. There, Patr. Daniel prayed for the repose of the souls of Christos and Meropi, the Ecumenical Patriarch’s parents, as well as his sister, Zaharo. The family members are buried behind the Church of St. George, where their graves have become a place of remembrance connected to the Patriarch’s ancestral homeland.
Patr. Bartholomew’s parents reposed in Istanbul during the early 1990s. Their remains were later transferred to Imbros and interred in their native village. Following her repose in Athens in 2023, Zaharo was laid to rest beside her parents on the island. Through the memorial prayers, Patr. Daniel asked God to grant rest and eternal memory to the departed members of the Ecumenical Patriarch’s family. In another village, the two Patriarchs stopped to sing "O Gladsome Light."
The visit formed part of Patr. Daniel’s time on Imbros, a place of profound personal and spiritual significance for Patr. Bartholomew and for the Orthodox Christian community connected to the historic island.
Previously, the UOJ reported that the Romanian and Bulgarian primates joined the Ecumenical Patriarch on Imbros.
