Bulgarian Orthodox Patriarch Neofit dies aged 78

Patriarch Neofit of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, and Metropolitan of Sofia, has died at the age of 78.

By Sr. Francine-Marie Cooper

The news of the death of Patriarch Neofit of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and Metropolitan of Sofia, due to multi-organ failure, was announced by Western and Central European Metropolitan Anthony.

The Orthodox Holy Synod said on Wednesday in a statement that the patriarch had been hospitalized for four months for lung ailments.

He passed away at the Military Medical Academy in Sofia on Wednesday evening at 10:22 PM.

Neofit was elected Patriarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church on February 24, 2013, and succeeded Patriarch Maxim who led the Church between 1971 and his death in 2012.

Neofit was the third Patriarch of Bulgaria.

About 80% of the population in the 6.8 million-strong Bulgaria are Orthodox Christians.

In May 2019, Patriarch Neofit met with Pope Francis in the Synod Hall of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church during his Apostolic Visit to Bulgaria.

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