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Victoria Mindova

The Greek Orthodox Church held a prayer for the dead in Athens in memory of Patriarch Maxim of Bulgaria, after the news of the loss of the Bulgarian cleric reached Athens.

GRReporter contacted the spokesman of the Holy Synod of the Greek Orthodox Church, Father Timotheos Antis, who expressed his support for the fraternal Church and people. He said that the Greek Archbishop Ieronymos is expected to visit Sofia to attend the funeral of Patriarch Maxim of Bulgaria.

"We would like to express our love and support to the Bulgarian Church." Patriarch Maxim of Bulgaria is highly respected in the Greek Orthodox community and Father Timotheos has defined him as a great spiritual leader. "He was a kind and good man and a true spiritual leader. We all support the Bulgarian Orthodox Church at this difficult time."

By midday, only Kathimerini of the major Greek media covered the news of the grievous event for the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. The article is entitled "The late Patriarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church Maxim" and describes the life and church path of the Bulgarian cleric. The Greek media pays special attention to the period when an attempt was made to challenge the legitimacy of Maxim and the heads of fraternal Orthodox churches supported him to overcome the crisis.

Kathimerini recalls 1998, when a general council of Orthodox churches was held. Then, the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, the Archbishop of Athens and All Greece at the time Seraphim, Russian Patriarch Alexy and other leaders of fraternal churches confirmed the legitimate choice of Maxim as the head of the Bulgarian church in order to stop its split. "Thanks to the continued solidarity and active support of the Patriarchate and the Greek Orthodox Church and of other churches, the full restoration of the unity and prestige of the Bulgarian Church has been finally achieved," the article points out.