The Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church, His Holiness Kirill, gave his blessings to the religious Bulgarians after arriving in Sofia on Friday.

"I have been to Bulgaria many times and my heart is always open for the Bulgarian believers and the Bulgarian people," Patriarch Kirill declared.

"May peace and well-being prevail on this remarkable land and the Bulgarian nation," he added, blessing the Bulgarians after landing in Sofia at about 5 pm on Friday.

In a brief address, he noted that his current visit to Bulgaria is his first after he became Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia, as cited by BGNES.

Patriarch Kirill, 65, pointed out that he will be meeting with his counterpart, the head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Maxim, 94, and with the representatives of the Bulgarian Holy Synod.

"I wish peace and prosperity for Bulgaria, growth and strengthening of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church," the Russian Patriarch said.

Kirill arrived in Sofia with a six-member delegation on a private plane. He was welcomed by the Bishop of Vidin Dometian, the Bishop of Varna and Veliki Preslav Kiril, the Bishop of Stara Zagora Galaktion, and the Bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church in Bulgaria Ilarion Alfeev.

He will also have meetings with the Bulgarian state leaders - President Rosen Plevneliev, Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, and Parliament Chair Tsetska Tsacheva.

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