Lovech, Bulgaria, February 2, 2026
Photo: bg-patriarshia.bg
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church marked the 25th anniversary of His Eminence Metropolitan Gabriel’s canonical election as head of the Lovech Diocese with a solemn Divine Liturgy on February 1 at the Cathedral of Sts. Cyril and Methodius in Lovech.
His Holiness Patriarch Daniil of Bulgaria presided at the service, joined by Met. Gabriel and 15 other hierarchs, including His Eminence Metropolitan Joanikije of Montenegro from the Serbian Orthodox Church. Also participating were clergy from across Bulgaria and Archimandrite Nelut Opria, representative of the Romanian Patriarch in Bulgaria, reports the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
Met. Gabriel is known as one of the most stalwart bishops of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, especially evident in recent years by his firm stance in support of the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
In his homily, Pat. Daniil praised the Metropolitan’s extensive work over the past quarter-century, particularly his dedication to preserving and preaching the Orthodox faith. “Having grown under the guidance of experienced spiritual mentors... you understood from your youth the importance and decisive significance of the purity of our faith for human life and eternal salvation,” he said.
Photo: bg-patriarshia.bg
He also highlighted Met. Gabriel’s work in education, specifically noting the establishment of Bulgaria’s first Orthodox school, Seven Saints, where “children, alongside quality education, receive the much-needed upbringing in eternal and salvific Christian truths and values.”
Pat. Daniil presented Met. Gabriel with an episcopal staff on behalf of himself and the Holy Synod.
Met. Gabriel thanked the Lord for giving him strength to carry this heavy cross while acknowledging that the path “was neither easy nor without trials, but it was also a path of grace, of encounters with the living faith of God’s people.”
Among the achievements he mentioned were the restoration of many monasteries and churches, the ordination of dozens of clergy, the 2011 canonization of the Novoseltsi Martyrs, and the construction of the new cathedral.
Met. Gabriel was elected and canonically confirmed as the ruling hierarch of Lovech on January 21 and 28, 2001. During his quarter-century of leadership, he has established social kitchens, the private Orthodox school, published dozens of Orthodox books, built churches, and restored monasteries and monastic life in the diocese.
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