Let us offer our prayers together with the Bulgarian Orthodox Church (BOC) for the soul of Patriarch Neofit and remember him with the worthy deeds with which he showed his service to the patriarchal throne, a responsible service in difficult times. This is what Dr. Kostadin Nushev, a theologian and teacher at the Faculty of Theology of the SU “St. Kliment Ohridski” urged on the air of BNT.
“We remember how he was elected and enthroned – this ceremony of his was a crowning of the election by the Patriarchal Electoral Council, but there were protests, troubled moments in the streets of Sofia. So huge hopes were concentrated on his ministry and his personality. Even in the first years of his ministry, he justified these hopes. Gradually, the public prestige, authority and rating of the BOC, according to sociological surveys, increased tremendously, and many sociologists began to talk about the BOC as one of the most prestigious institutions against the background of others that were in a downward trend in the approval of citizens,” said Prof. Nushev.
According to his words, for these 11 years, due to his personality, dialogicity and unobtrusiveness in the style of behavior and communication, Patriarch Neophyte was able to quell conflicts and bring people together.
“The figure of the Bulgarian patriarch is very important in such moments of crisis to calm certain public disputes. He was a very good adviser, consultant. According to the state protocol, the Bulgarian patriarch occupies fourth place in it. When the governments took office in the National Assembly, he was present at the ceremonies, without this implying any imposition of a religious institutional form of canceling the separation between the church and the state. Patriarch Neophyte will be remembered for his style of spiritual leadership, showing the need for cooperation, rapprochement and reconciliation, said Associate Professor Kostadin Nushev.
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