(15 Mar 2024)
RESTRICTIONS SUMMARY:
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Sofia, Bulgaria - 15 March 2024
1. Black mourning flag is lowered from the bell tower of Alexander Nevsky Cathedral
2. Various of Orthodox Priests standing beside the deceased Bulgarian Patriarch Neophyte
3. Various of priests attending memorial ceremony
4. Orthodox worshipers wait in line to pay their respects to Bulgarian Patriarch Neophyte
5. Woman lights and arranges candles
6. Icon-painted dome of the cathedral
7. SOUNDBITE (Bulgarian) Anelia Tsvetkova, mourner:
“He was extremely kind person with a secular worldview, very tolerant, trying to strike a balance between all sides. We must remember an extremely educated, intelligent and good man.”
8. Wide, people in line
9. SOUNDBITE (Bulgarian) Ivo Bozhilov, mourner:
“We will remember him for his kindness, for always listening to people and seeing the real problems in the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.”
10. Wide of Alexander Nevsky cathedral with people in line in front, mourning bell ringing
11. SOUNDBITE (Bulgarian) Emil Nikolov, Orthodox Christian believer
“I will remember the Patriarch only with good things. A man of authority. Soft spoken, with a lot of patience, with respect for all people regardless of their social status. He respected absolutely everyone. A wonderful person, a person to follow. May God bless him!”
12. People waiting to pay their respects
13. SOUNDBITE (Bulgarian) Emil Nikolov, Orthodox Christian believer.
“We truly mourn for him. He will also be missed as a musician, composer, singer. A very broad minded man. He was more than an ordinary man, a Patriarch indeed.”
14. Wide of Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, ringing its mourning bell.
STORYLINE:
Thousands of faithful from across Bulgaria on Friday flocked to Sofia’s main Alexander Nevski Cathedral the pay respects to their late spiritual leader.
Patriarch Neophyte, who was the first elected Eastern Orthodox Patriarch in post-communist Bulgaria, passed away on Wednesday at a hospital in Sofia after a long illness. He was 78.
The government declared a two-day national mourning period to honor Patriarch Neophyte’s memory.
Black-clad priests held a memorial service as lines of worshippers passed by the open casket where Neophyte laid in state, dressed in a white robe and wearing a golden crown.
The coffin holding the patriarch’s body will be taken on Saturday in a funeral procession to the St. Nedelya Church, where he will be buried.
Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew is expected to arrive for the funeral, as well as delegations of other Eastern Orthodox churches.
Orthodox Christianity is Bulgaria’s dominant religion, followed by some 85 percent of the country’s 6.7 million people.
Patriarch Neophyte was the church’s leader for 11 years succeeding his predecessor Maxim, who was at the helm of Bulgaria’s dominant Orthodox Church during the turbulent transition period from communism to democracy.
Neophyte was widely acclaimed for his diplomatic skills in solving internal conflicts among the senior clergy, as well as maintaining good relations with other churches and denominations.
With the charisma of a modest and well-tempered leader, Neophyte won respect among the faithful.
He publicly welcomed Pope Francis during the pontiff’s visit to Sofia in 2019, a trip seen by others in the Bulgarian Church as “an attack on Orthodoxy.”
The Bulgarian Catholic church praised in a statement Neophyte’s “sincere brotherly Christian love” with the Bulgarian Catholic community.
Relations with the larger Russian Orthodox Church deteriorated after Moscow’s invasion in Ukraine.
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