Sofia: Priests' Conference on the occasion of marking the 700th anniversary of the death of the Holy King Milutin

02. Nov 2021.
The Ambassador of Serbia to Bulgaria, Željko Jović, participated in a priests’ conference on the occasion of marking the 700th anniversary of the death of Holy King Milutin, which was held in the Sofia Metropolitanate.

The conference was opened by the Bishop Polycarp of Belogradchik, who read the address of Patriarch Neophyte on that occasion, emphasizing that for the first time a liturgy was organized with relics that passed through the central streets of Sofia.

The iconom-stavrophore Nikolay Georgiev, president of the church board of the Metropolitanate of Holy Sunday also addressed the gathering, acquainting the audience with the history and the route of the relics of the Holy King, and pointing out that the relics of Saint John of Rila and Holy King Stefan Milutin are the only relics in Bulgaria that have been preserved in their entirety, and that the relics of both saints were in the same temple for some time. After that, Archpriest Petar Slavov from the Metropolitanate and iconom Ilian Aleksiev addressed the audience.

In his address, Serbian Ambassador Jović underlined key segments of Milutin's life, with an emphasis on his character, traits and deeds. He also pointed out the importance of the Serbian Holy King, as a kind of link between the two nations, and the possibility of deepening our overall cooperation.

At the end of the conference, Bishop Polycarp wished that, with the blessing of the Holy King Stefan Milutin, "we live in joy and peace and to celebrate the memory of him every year, together, in unison".