Bulgarian Patriarch Maxim celebrates Sunday his 92 birthday. Photo by Yuliana Nikolova (Sofia Photo Agency)
Bishops from Bulgaria's Holy Synod will hold a special holy mass on Sunday to honour Patriarch Maxim's 92 birthday.
The mass will be held in the St Alexander Nevski Cathedral, in the heart of Sofia.
After the holy mass, bishops will say a prayer for the Patriarch's health. Later in the day the metropolitan bishops will visit Maxim at the hospital he is currently staying in because of poor health condition.
The Bulgarian Patriarch is born on 29 October 1914 in the mountain village Oreshak and was given the name Marin Naidenov Minkov. He received the monastic name Maxim in 1941.
He was enthroned Bulgarian Patriarch on 4 July 1971.