Dobrich, Bulgaria, April 18, 2019
Photo: bg-patriarshia.bg
A new church is being built in Bulgaria in honor of one of the Orthodox Church’s most beloved saints today.
On Sunday, His Eminence Metropolitan John of Varna and Veliki Preslav laid the foundation stone of the future Church of St. Luke of Simferopol in Dobrich in northeastern Bulgaria, reports the site of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
St. Luke, a 20th-century holy hierarch and confessor under the communist regime in Russian, affectionately known as the “Blessed Surgeon,” enjoys wide veneration throughout the Orthodox Church, and is especially loved in Greece, where he has worked many miracles.
Photo: bg-patriarshia.bg
The Bulgarian Church also received relics of St. Luke from Russia in October 2016.
Met. John was concelebrated by local dean Hieromonk Ivan (Doichev) and the rector of the new church Fr. Peter Dimitrov.
Many residents were present at the long-awaited beginning of the construction of the church dedicated to such a beloved saint, including several local officials. Met. John explained to all those present that the placement of the foundation stone is related to where the altar will be, in the easternmost part of the church. He also read out a scroll that was placed together with the foundation stone and invited the local officials and clergy present to sign it.
Photo: bg-patriarshia.bg
“Today, on the fifth Sunday Great Lent—of St. Mary of Egypt—we are also carrying out a sacred work with the laying of the foundation stone. It is important to us that the community and the people have a desire for this, thanks to which this event has come about,” His Eminence said, wishing them success in the construction of the church.
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