The funeral mass and service were held in Sofia

Hundreds of believers and clerics from Bulgaria and abroad flocked to the patriarchal cathedral “St. Alexander Nevsky” to see His Holiness the Patriarch of Bulgaria and Metropolitan of Sofia Neophyte off on his final journey. The Patriarch passed away on 13 March.

The funeral mass was officiated by Metropolitan Yoan of Varna and Veliki Preslav, interim head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.

The funeral mass was followed by a funeral service presided over by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, who arrived in Bulgaria with a large church delegation, together with representatives of the local Orthodox churches and with bishops from the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.

After the funeral service, the mortal remains of the Bulgarian patriarch were taken in liturgical procession to the metropolitan cathedral “St. Nedelya”, to be laid to rest for all eternity there. The patriarch’s mortal remains were carried by the same carriage used to send Tsar Boris III off on his final earthly journey.