Memorial Services Held across Bulgaria on All Souls’ Day to Honour Fallen Soldiers
Memorial services and military rituals were held across Bulgaria on Saturday, when the Church marks All Souls’ Day, to honour the country’s fallen soldiers.
In Sofia, Bulgarian Patriarch Daniil led a memorial service at the Military Museum-Ossuary at the Central Cemetery. A military ritual paid respect to the service persons who lost their lives in wars, peace-keeping operations and in the line of duty during peacetime. Attending were President Rumen Radev, National Assembly Chair Raya Nazaryan, Defence Minister Atanas Zapryanov, the Chief of Defence, Admiral Emil Eftimov, and high-ranking officers in the Bulgarian Army.
Patriarch Daniil said that the Bulgarian Army has not lost a battle and the Bulgarian flag has never been captured because the warriors were taught “in the spirit of patriotism, in the spirit of respect for their parents from as early as by their paternal hearth, in the spirit of respect, of patience and the spirit of charity.” “In this way, having struggled with their weaknesses and with their sins, they have learned in deed that a pious life, which is more for others than for oneself, brings true good, builds a person up and gives strength and inspiration for a constructive life,” Patriarch Daniil said. He also said that today, all responsible factors in society should make every effort to educate the next generation precisely in the spirit of faith, traditions and virtues that are inherent in Bulgarians and are part of the national identity.
Memorial services and military rituals were also held in Shumen, Pleven, Ruse, Yambol, Varna, Burgas, Razgrad, Blagoevgrad, Dobrich, and Targovishte, among other settlements.