The metropolitan of Stara Zagora, Kiprian, chaired the first working meeting today of the priests - chaplains serving in Bulgarian prisons. This was reported on the website of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
The idea of restoring the chaplaincy service in places of deprivation of liberty in Bulgaria came from senior ecumenical Father Nikolay Georgiev. He is the founder of the Chaplaincy Service in the country (1997) and chief chaplain of the prisons in the Republic of Bulgaria (1997-2002), as well as regional director for Europe and Central Asia of Prison Fellowship International (2011-2014).
The meeting was attended by clergy who care for the incarcerated in prisons in Sofia, Stara Zagora, Vratsa, Pazardzhik, Burgas, Bobov Dol, Belene, Lovech, and Varna.
His Eminence Metropolitan Kiprian conveyed the blessing of the Bulgarian Patriarch Daniel and the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church for the implementation of the chaplaincy service and wished success to the priests in their spiritual and social duties. The main report was given by Archpriest Nikolay Georgiev on the need for the restoration of the Chaplain Service, or the so-called "Directorate for Providing for the Religious Needs of Prisoners," discussing the possibilities for this and the principles of the relationship between the Church and the state when it comes to spiritual care for prisoners, as well as the need for legislative changes for stability and sustainability.
"Why in prison? There are several answers to this question. The first and most obvious is that in prison, there are proven sinners. And as Christ himself said, they are the poorest of the poor," said former director of the Gabrovo prison, priest Hristo Petrov. "Everyone there has convictions, they have a reason to be there and that is why we, as priests, who seek the lost sheep, go to help them in their salvation," shared Father Nikolay Georgiev and added in his introduction about the need for Christ to be brought to the prisoners, but also the need for us to visit Him ourselves (in His words: I was in prison and you came to me (Matt. 25:36). "There is a need to visit Him Himself and to serve Him in the face of the prisoners," he added.
The priests - chaplains discussed the need not only for religious, but also for moral support to be provided to those deprived of their freedom.
3358 | 29 Jan. 2025 | 16:13
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