Sofia, March 11, 2025
Photo: bg-patriarshia.bg
His Holiness Patriarch Daniil of Bulgaria spoke on Sunday about the importance of the feast of the Triumph of Orthodoxy and the danger that heresies pose to man.
The Bulgarian primate celebrated the Divine Liturgy in the St. Alexander Nevsky Patriarchal Cathedral in Sofia, concelebrated by His Grace Bishop Gerasim of Melnik, His Grace bishop Isaac of Velbazhd, and local priests and deacons, reports the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
In his homily at the end of the service, the Patriarch spoke about the history of the Sunday of Orthodoxy as the celebration of the faith over Iconoclasm and all soul-destroying heresies.
Following the era of persecutions, various heresies shook the Church and “threatened, or attempted to threaten, the very salvation of mankind, because even the smallest distortion of faith leads to distortion of life and separation from God,” His Holiness emphasized, speaking to the inseparable connection between belief and practice that characterizes Orthodox spirituality.
Thus, the Church proclaims anathemas against “certain concepts, teachings, and ways of thinking as anti-Church, non-Church, outside the Church.”
“Such ways of thinking and living offer no salvation but lead to condemnation,” Pat. Daniil said.
However, the holy Orthodox Church is the unshakable ark of salvation, the Bulgarian primate affirmed, and even though it faces many challenges today, it continues to “preserve unharmed the faith just as our Lord Jesus Christ revealed it, as the Prophets foretold, as the Lord Himself revealed it, as the Apostles confessed and taught, spreading it throughout the earth, and as it has been handed down by the Holy Fathers to this day.”
Afterward, the Moleben of the Sunday of Orthodoxy was served, in which the “faith that established the universe” is proclaimed and all destructive heresies are anathematized. The Church prays for God to strengthen us in the true faith and to enlighten the spiritual eyes of those who are deluded, so they may understand His truth and turn to Him.
Photo: bg-patriarshia.bg
Following the moleben, a procession was held around the Patriarchal cathedral, with many Orthodox Christians carrying holy icons.
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