By Nick Stamatakis
In a show of his true contrarian character – which Helleniscope has documented extensively during the last years – Pat. Bartholomew went to Sofia to attend the funeral of Bulgarian Patriarch Neofytos. But his presence there was not primarily to pay tribute to the deceased Patriarch but to sanctify the presence of the schismatic “Metropolitan” of Ukraine Epihanios!.. As we all know the Patriarchate of Bulgaria never recognized the “Autocephaly/Cacocephaly” of Ukraine… Obviously, Pat. Bartholomew is trying to impose his position on the Bulgarian Church using the help of his American handlers. Unfortunately for him, the pro-Russian part of the Bulgarian political scene and the Church seems to be gaining ground and, in combination with the fatal defeat of the West in Ukraine – which is irreversible no matter what the West will try – Bartholomew’s free reign is finishing… Here is the photo showing Met. Epiphanios among the other hierarchs at the funeral…
In addition to imposing Epiphanios (soon to be called “Epiphanios of No Ukraine” as Helleniscope has named him starting two years ago – get ready to welcome him in America and pay for him!!) according to spzh.news (below) “During the funeral service for the late Patriarch of the Bulgarian Church, Neophyte, Patriarch Bartholomew recalled the Cretan Council to the deceased Primate. He reproached him for the fact that Patriarch Neophyte, while still a metropolitan, signed documents of the Pan-Orthodox Council in Chambésy, but ignored the Cretan Council after becoming patriarch. Typical incorrigible Bartholomew behavior!! Anti-Christian to say the least… Here is the excerpt from his speech:
“…Sadly, however, he did not grant us the blessing of his presence and active participation (as well as that of our dearly beloved Church of Bulgaria), despite what had been jointly agreed, five months later at the Holy and Great Council of the Orthodox Church that convened in Crete…”
To read the whole speech, please follow this link…
I think I am expressing the overwhelming majority of the faithful when I say that such a mention is wholly inappropriate in the eulogy of a pious man such as the departed Patriarch of Bulgaria Neophyte. But it is even more inappropriate to use his funeral to go against his and the Bulgarian Church’s decision, which clearly decided not to recognize the Cacocephaly of Ukraine…
Pat. Bartholomew could have sent the “second-in-command” to the funeral, Met. Emmanuel of Chalcedon, mainly because his relationship with the deceased Patriarch and the Bulgarian Church in general was not “cordial,” to put it mildly. Once more, during his tenure, he chose to act not like a true Christian but like a mule from his native island of Imvros…
PS. Many thanks to one of our readers who lives permanently in Bulgaria. He was present at the funeral and independently verified all the above information, along with providing the link to Bartholomew’s eulogy. As I have said so many times, Helleniscope is a product of its readers—this is our greatest power.
March 16, 2024, n.stamatakis@aol.com www.helleniscope.com
DISCLAIMER: The views and statements expressed in this article constitute constitutionally protected opinions of this author.
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During the funeral service for the late Patriarch of the Bulgarian Church, Neophyte, Patriarch Bartholomew recalled the Cretan Council to the deceased Primate.
On March 16, 2024, during the funeral of the late Patriarch of the Bulgarian Church, Neophyte, Patriarch Bartholomew reproached the deceased.
He reproached him for the fact that Patriarch Neophyte, while still a metropolitan, signed documents of the Pan-Orthodox Council in Chambésy, but ignored the Cretan Council after becoming patriarch.
Earlier, the UOJ reported that Dumenko attended the funeral of Bulgarian Patriarch Neophyte.
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Dumenko attends the funeral of Bulgarian Patriarch Neophyte
The requiem Divine Liturgy for the late Bulgarian Patriarch Neophyte has begun in Sofia.
The requiem Divine Liturgy for the late Patriarch Neophyte of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Neophyte, has commenced at the Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky in Sofia.
Present at the funeral are head of the OCU Epifaniy Dumenko and spokesman of the OCU Yevstratiy Zoria, according to Channel 24.
Metropolitans of the Synod of the BOC expressed concern about this, as the Bulgarian Orthodox Church has not recognized Dumenko’s structure. Therefore, the presence of the OCU delegation at the funeral has sparked disputes. Metropolitan Ioann of Varna and Veliki Preslav stated that the arrival of Epifaniy Dumenko might unsettle some people, as his status is still undetermined.
The OCU delegation arrived together with Patriarch Bartholomew, who approached the cathedral and entered the altar, where he will lead the funeral service for Patriarch Neophyte after the Liturgy. The service is conducted by Bulgarian hierarchs. Dumenko and Zoria stand in the corner of St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral.
The head of the Patriarchate of Constantinople is accompanied by Archimandrite Haralampiy (Nichev), who was expelled from the BOC under Patriarch Maxim.
Representing the ROC at the funeral is Metropolitan Nestor of Korsun and Western Europe.
As reported by the UOJ, the late Bulgarian Patriarch Neophyte previously stated that today the world is plagued by forces of evil, citing as an example the “destructive war against fraternal Ukraine”.
Εδώ δυστυχώς ισχύει το λαϊκόν
ρητόν ο Όνος όταν είναι για να ψοφήσει ……ξαναστηλώνεται .
Clown show.
If the Bulgarian Synod allowed Epiphanios there, it’s not looking good…it was only a short while after Ειρηναιος of Serbia “died of Covid” that Skopje was recognized by Bartholomew, and the Synod of Serbia under the new Patriarch of Serbia concellebrated with the “new formation”, ending years of a hard-line position.
Therefore, I’m afraid that the defacto presence of Epiphanios is not a good omen
Markos, in a separate article it was noted that the Bulgarian Church didn’t know that Epiphany would be there…he was essentially “forced” on them by Bartholomew.
Markos I must have missed something. I thought the Church of Serbia continued to take a principled stand against non-canonical Frankenstein coven that Bartholomew spawned in Ukraine. As a Greek with many many dear Serbian friends I would be heartbroken to learn otherwise.
Yes…I think you are correct about “missing something”…We are talking about Skopje…the so-called “North Macedonia”…they also “self-declared” automony and were in schism for years…and now both Constantinople and Belgrade have acknowledged them, after the recent replacement of Patriarch Eirenaios of Serbia, who held a hard-line…
If they went to the Serbian Church, as its daughter Church, and made peace with them and regularized their position within the family of Orthodox Churches, then I don’t understand the issue. We should rejoice in the resumption of brotherly relations between them and rejoice that the unity of the Church become more complete.
The schism was caused by uncanonical actions which have now been resolved. Even though I am Greek I really can’t t get excited about their use of the name Macedonia. That was done for decades under the prior communist government. Water under the bridge in my view.
It’s toxic water that will boil us all…not water under the bridge…
Ethnophyletism was condemned by the Ecumenical Patriarchate with a formal encyclical in the 19th century, and in our day and age we are witnessing the “successor” to that throne go against that decision (as if he were a Pope), only because it benefits geo-political interests of those who “control” him…