Bulgaria's EU Commissioner Kristalina Georgieva has congratulated Patriarch Maxim, the head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, on the occasion of the 40th year since his enthronement.

"This is not just your personal celeration, it is also a celebration for the entire Bulgarian nation. In the last four decades you have navigated the ship of our holy church through the ruffled sea of history, preserving its unity. I admire you dedicated and fruitful work for the benefit of our fatherland," Georgieva states in her address to Patriarch Maxim of Bulgaria.

"Our church has always been with the nation and its aspirations for freedom, humaneness, and well-being. Thanks to You, it has remained invaribly by its side, and has continue to listen to the nation's voice," the congratulatory address reads.

An official solemn mass marking the 40th anniversary of the enthronement of Bulgarian Patriarch Maxim was in Sofia's St. Alexander Nevski cathedral on Sunday.

The official commemoration of the 96-year-old Patriarch Maxim's enthronement started Saturday, when the relics of the great Christian Orthodox theologian St. Maximus the Confessor traveled from Mount Athos to be laid out for veneration in the patriarchal St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral

Bulgarian President Georgi Parvanov, PM Boyko Borisov, Parliamentary Chair Tsetska Tsacheva, as well as former Tsar and Prime Minister Simeon Saxe-Coburg were among those attending the solemn mess.

Patriarch Maxim was born as Marin Naidenov Minkov on October 29, 1914 and was raised in the Balkan Mountains village of Oreshak. He became a novice monk at the nearby monastery of Troyan before attending Sofia University, where he specialized in Orthodox Theology. He took Holy Orders in 1941.

After a number of promotions within the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Maxim was appointed as Bulgaria's Patriarch on July 4, 1971, following the death of the incumbent, Cyril.

In the 1990s, following allegations that Maxim had collaborated with the former Communist regime, the church split, with a rival Bulgarian Alternative Synod being formed. Maxim gathered enough support to prevent a complete schism in the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.