Bulgarian Patriarchate condemns attack on Holy Family Church in Gaza
Headquarters of the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Sofia. Photo: orthodoxianewsagency
On July 18, 2025, the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church issued a statement regarding the situation in the Gaza Strip, condemning the recent attack on the Catholic Church of the Holy Family, which resulted in the deaths of civilians. The statement was reported by the Orthodoxia News Agency.
According to the Synod, the ongoing siege of Gaza has led to a major humanitarian catastrophe. Thousands have been killed, and millions are left without food, water, medicine, or electricity. The Church calls on the international community and religious organizations to exert real pressure on all parties in the conflict to bring about an immediate end to the hostilities.
The Bulgarian Patriarchate emphasized that the daily bombings – including strikes on churches, hospitals, and civilian neighborhoods – violate not only international law but also moral and Gospel principles. “The voice of spilled blood cries out to Heaven and to our conscience,” the statement declares.
The Church demands an immediate end to the blockade, unrestricted access to humanitarian aid, and the establishment of conditions for a just peace. The document also includes a warning: inaction in the face of suffering becomes complicity in it.
The Bulgarian Patriarchate expressed its prayerful support for the Orthodox Church of Jerusalem, its Patriarch Theophilos III, and the clergy currently in Gaza.
The statement concludes with the words: “May Almighty God protect and preserve His innocent children and remind all those responsible that the restoration of peace lies in their hands.”
On July 17, 2025, an Israeli airstrike hit the only Catholic church in Gaza – the Church of the Holy Family – where around 450 people, including children and persons with disabilities, had taken shelter. Three people were killed, and about ten others were injured, including the parish priest, Father Gabriel Romanelli.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that the Jerusalem Patriarchate also condemned the attack on the Holy Family Church in Gaza.
Read also
Dumenko: Russian shelling only underscores the “canonical” status of the OCU
Serhiy Dumenko assured that the OCU “opposes discord by seeking accord, peace, and unity.”
New UOC church of St. Basil the Great consecrated in Krasnoilsk, Bukovyna
The rite of consecration and the festive service were led by Metropolitan Meletiy of Chernivtsi and Bukovyna.
New men’s monastery founded in UOC's Oleksandriia Eparchy
The Holy Transfiguration monastery will become a center of prayer and spiritual care in the region.
European Parliament honors memory of Archbishop Anastasios of Albania
For the first time, the European Parliament hosted an event dedicated to the life and works of the late Primate of the Albanian Church.
UN seeks to include abortion and gender ideology in “children’s rights”
In Geneva, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child is considering a draft that proposes to enshrine for minors the right to abortion and gender transition without parental consent.
Surveillance camera aimed at Orthodox school near Cherkasy removed – believers
Unknown individuals posing as electricians installed a camera opposite the entrance to an Orthodox gymnasium. After the police were called, the device disappeared.