A meeting of the priests of the Sliven Diocese with His Eminence Metropolitan John of Varna and Great Preslav will be held in the Sliven Metropolis. It is scheduled for March 7 at 11:00 a.m.
The meeting is at the request of the priests, who submitted a letter to the office of the Metropolis.
Here is the content of the letter, unedited:
TO
HIS REVERENCE
VARNA AND VELIKOPRESLAVSK
METROPOLITAN MR, MR JOHN
YOUR REVERENCE,
The diocesan clergy is addressing you with a request for a personal meeting in the building of the Sliven Metropolis, at which we would like you to state your arguments regarding the cancellation of the election for the two eligible bishops named by us, candidates for Sliven Metropolitan.
Let us also share our concerns about the comment published on the Internet from your meeting with the laity from the city of Varna – we quote: “In the Sliven Diocese, there are many serious problems to be solved, which have been accumulating for years. The election of a good metropolitan is of great importance in solving them.”
We suggest that the meeting be attended by representatives from all Spiritual Districts in the Diocese of Sliven Eparchy, in order to gain a more complete picture of life in it. We have other concerns that we would like to share with you, namely the substitution of the truth and the circulation of falsehoods by persons who aim to disturb the peace and understanding in our diocese.
During the election, we fully complied with the statutes of the BOC. We were left with the impression that you are also satisfied with the way it was conducted. That is why we want this urgent meeting with you to get all our questions answered.
We believe that there is no reason for you to have a special attitude towards the clergy and laity of our diocese.
However, for the first time in the history of the BOC-Bulgarian Patriarchate, laity and clergy are refused to take part in the election of their bishop.
We sincerely hope that this meeting will take place and our request is that it be held on 07.03.2024 in the building of the Sliven Metropolis.
We kiss your archpastoral right and leave the children faithful to God, to you and to our native Church!
03/05/2024. The clergy of Sliven Diocese
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