Pope Benedict XVI has sent a telegram of condolence on the occasion of the death of
Patriarch Maxim of Sophia, the head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. Patriarch Maxim
died Tuesday of heart failure. He was 98.
The Bulgarian Church's Holy Synod
of 13 senior clergy will meet to make funeral arrangements and choose an interim patriarch
until a larger Church Council is held within the next four months to pick Maxim's
successor, church officials said.
Orthodox Christianity is Bulgaria's dominant
religion, followed by more than 80 percent of the country's 7.4 million people. Maxim
was the church's leader for more than four decades, bridging the country's transition
from communism.
See the full text of Pope Benedict's telegram on the
death of Patriarch Maxim below: To His Eminence Grigorij di Veliko Trnovo Interim
President of the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Bulgaria
It is with deep
sorrow that I heard the news of the death of our beloved brother in Christ, His Holiness
Maxim, Metropolitan of Sofia and Patriarch of Bulgaria, who served our Lord and his
people with devotion for many years. On behalf of the Catholic Church, I wish to assure
you and all the bishops, priests, and faithful of the Orthodox Church of Bulgaria
that I join in prayer in your grief. May the Lord, Who is good and merciful, welcome
our beloved brother Maxim into His heavenly home. May He grant him peace and eternal
memory!
Participating in the pain of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, I thank
God for all the blessings of the late Patriarch for his church and the people of his
country. In particular, I remember the warm hospitality accorded to Blessed Pope John
Paul II during his visit to Bulgaria in May 2002. I thank the Lord for the good relations
that the Patriarch has fostered with the Catholic Church in these lands, and I sincerely
hope that the good relations can continue in order to promote the proclamation of
the Gospel.
With renewed expressions of sympathy and the assurance of my remembrance
and of my prayer, and I ask you to accept, your Eminence, the expression of my sincere
greetings in Christ.