Pope Benedict XVI Receives Bulgarian Delegation on Cyrillic Alphabet Day

Politics | May 24, 2007, Thursday // 00:00
Bulgaria: Pope Benedict XVI Receives Bulgarian Delegation on Cyrillic Alphabet Day Pope Benedict XVI received Thursday the Bulgarian delegation to the Vatican. Photo b16.pl

A Bulgarian delegation, led by the president of the country's parliament Georgi Pirisnki was received by Pope Benedict XVI in the Vatican on Thursday.

The delegation includes the chairpersons of a couple of parties, the chair of the parliamentary commission on education, the Veliko Tarnovo Metropolitan Bishop Grigoriy, the head parson of the Sofia and Plovdiv diocese Stefan Manolov, Deputy Education Minister Ekaterina Vitkova, Deputy Culture Minister Ivan Tokadzhiev and the Bulgarian Ambassador to the Vatican Valentin Bozhilov. They have come to Rome for the commemoration of Sts. Cyril and Methodius, the creators of the Cyrillic alphabet.

Addressing the Bulgarian delegation, the Pope noted how their visit was an expression "of the desire to reaffirm their own European traditions, profoundly steeped in Evangelical values. Of course, given its origins, the history of Bulgaria precedes Christian revelation, however there can be no doubt that in the Gospel the country found a source of values capable of reinforcing the culture, identity and genius typical of its people."

"Following the sad and austere period of communist domination," the Pope continued, "Bulgaria today is moving towards full integration with other European nations. ... It is my fervent wish that the cultural and spiritual foundations present in Bulgarian society may continue to be cultivated within the country, and that they ... may be proposed and defended in those organizations of which she is already an authoritative member. I particularly hope that Bulgaria and her people may conserve and promote the Christian virtues that came down to them from Sts. Cyril and Methodius, still pertinent and necessary today."

"My cordial wish," he concluded, "is that you will be able to conserve, always and faithfully, the heritage of your two saintly protectors, so that your voice, both in the civil and religious field, may be heard and given just consideration."

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