site.btaEcumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I Wishes Peace in the Balkans, Prosperity for Bulgaria at Meeting with Parliament Chair Rashidov

Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I wished peace in the Balkans and prosperity for the Bulgarian people and state at his Tuesday meeting with National Assembly Chair Vezhdi Rashidov. Patriarch Bartholomew received  Rashidov at the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Istanbul.

In the customary exchange of gifts, Patriarch Bartholomew gave Rashidov a bilingual Quran in Arabic and Greek, and the latter responded with the Scriptures bound with gold casing.

His All-Holiness expressed his joy at the fact that Bulgaria, Romania and Cyprus have been part of the European family for some years, that everyone together now can wish each other the best in the period of Advent. Bartholomew I wished a New Year of bounty and the Bulgarian delegation – success, to see, God willing, all tasks they have set before themselves fulfilled. 

Rashidov and the delegation he heads are also to attend a prayer service at the Saint Stephen church in Istanbul.