On May 5, Pope Francis begins a three-day trip to Bulgaria. He will pray with members of the country’s Catholic minority (who number around 50,000), and lead an open-air prayer for peace in the presence of representatives of other religions in central Sofia. However, no official representatives of the majority Orthodox Church will be present.
The Bulgarian Church’s Holy Synod stated on April 3 that Pope was invited by the civil authorities, not the Church. Francis will pay a visit to Patriarch Neofit and other hierarchs, and will pray privately in the Orthodox cathedral, but there will be no shared prayer. The Pope will wear no liturgical vestments. No Orthodox clergy may take part in the joint prayer for peace.
