Bulgaria’s Orthodox Christians leader died at the age of 78

RELIGIONS NEWS AGENCY (REDNA) – Bulgarians lined the streets of Sofia on Saturday to bid farewell to the late Orthodox Patriarch Neophyte.

AP reported the spiritual leader of Bulgaria’s Orthodox Christians died on Wednesday at the age of 78 after a long illness.

Neophyte, who became patriarch in 2013, was the first elected head of the Bulgarian church after the fall of communism in 1989. His charisma as a modest and well-tempered leader won him respect among the faithful.

Neophyte’s funeral drew religious and political leaders, as well as ordinary Bulgarians who recalled him fondly.

The patriarch’s body, covered by a gold embroidered cloth, lay in the center of Sofia’s main Alexander Nevski Cathedral, while white-robed church elders led funeral prayers under the solemn sound of bells.

Istanbul-based Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, the spiritual leader of the world’s Orthodox Christians, led the memorial servic