Bulgarian hierarch about UOC Primate: God sends great shepherds

Metropolitan Gabriel of Lovech. Photo: podvorie-sofia.bg

On December 6, 2021, at a sermon in the church in honor of St. Nicholas the Wonderworker of Myra in Sofia (Bulgaria), the hierarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church Metropolitan Gabriel (Dinev) of Lovech named the Primate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv and All Ukraine, a great pastor, who was sent to Ukrainians by God, according to the site of the temple.

Bishop Gabriel led the Divine Liturgy in the St. Nicholas church at the metochion of the Russian Orthodox Church in Sofia. He was concelebrated by the General Secretary of the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Church Bishop Gerasim, the rector of the ROC Metochion Archimandrite Vassian (Zmeyev), the clergy of the church.

The Bulgarian hierarch spoke about his years spent at the Trinity-Sergius Lavra and the Moscow Theological Academy. He noted that then he had the opportunity to communicate with the dean of the monastery of St. Sergius, Father Onuphry (now – the Primate of the UOC – Ed.). "Bishop Gabriel called His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry the head of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church in contrast to the recently established schismatic structure. He also stressed that "in difficult moments of trials, the Lord sends great shepherds to the Orthodox people," the website of the ROC church in Sofia reports.

According to the UOJ, the Bulgarian hierarch noted that not every Church can boast of its flock like the UOC.

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