With great sorrow, the Diocese of the Armenian Church of Canada learned of the passing of Patriarch Maxim of Bulgaria, the leader of Bulgaria’s Orthodox Church, who passed away on Tuesday, November 6, in Sofia, Bulgaria. He was 98.
Patriarch Maxim became the head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in 1971. Following the collapse of Communism in Bulgaria in 1989, he led efforts to revitalize and unite the church.
In response to the news of Patriarch Maxim’s passing, His Holiness Karekin II, the Supreme Patriarch and Catholicos of All Armenians, expressed his condolences in a letter to the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Church. Representatives of the Armenian Church in Bulgaria attended Patriarch’s funeral on November 9, 2012.
