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Of course I will donate blood plasma! And for the Christian day a family of 20 priests donated blood, says the bishop of Stara Zagora
– Your Eminence, your initiative was that the world famous tenor Kamen Chanev, who lost the battle with COVD-19 last week, be buried in the courtyard of the Metropolitan Church “San Dimitar” in Stara Zagora. Why did you offer it?
– Although I have not personally performed a Kamen Chanev performance, my idea is respect for him as a person and for opera as an institution.
I made my proposal as soon as I found out about the singer’s death. It will rest where three metropolitans of Stara Zagora are buried, clergymen and mayors from a more distant past.
True, in general, secular people are not buried there, but in the Stara Zagora cemetery there is no separate alley for its honorary citizens and for people with great merits for the development of the city. If there were, Kamen would probably rest there.
This fact makes me think that perhaps it is time to propose to the city council to approve the construction of such an alley in the new Stara Zagora cemetery near the town of Bogomilovo, since the existing places are already occupied.
But anyway, the city owes Kamen Chanev respect for his talent, for the modesty he showed, for his self-denial on stage. He was here the whole time and played his last role in Giuseppe Verdi’s Othello.
And when this pandemic is over, anyone who wants to will be able to bow down and light a candle on his grave. They can go to a holy place. Where prayers are offered to God every day and in the future his name will be mentioned along with the names of those who deserved it to Stara Zagora, who find peace in the courtyard of the temple.
So my proposal was not purely spontaneous, but there is nothing accidental in our lives: God predestines what will happen.
Then, perhaps at God’s suggestion, with God’s permission, I simply suggested that they bury him in the courtyard of the metropolitan church.
His brother Rosen first wanted Kamen to be buried with his mother and father in Sliven.
But when you think about it, now you are back with your parents in heaven, with all your dead relatives, and you are already singing in the angelic choir. That is why it was better for his memory to stay in Stara Zagora and for those who want to come to worship.
– And you passed the COVID-19 test. Were you scared when the test came back positive? How was the illness?
– The Holy Apostle Paul in his epistle to the Romans says: “Whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s” (Rom. 14: 8), this is the truth.
God provides for all of us. I now had the opportunity to publicly express my gratitude to God for all that he has commanded me to experience, for his goodness and for the healing that has been given to me.
Of course, thanks and deep reverence to my personal physician, Dr. Hristina Ruseva, to Associate Prof. Slavov – immunologist, to Dr. Chernev – radiologist, to Dr. Dean Koronovski, to the physician of the diocese Bisera Ivanova.
As well as to my proto-bachelor Archimandrite Bogoslov, to the secretary of the metropolitan Mr. Ivanov for all the logistics in the administration of the diocese during my treatment, to the staff of the metropolitan house, to all the clergy of the diocese of Stara Zagora, to the Metropolitan staff, to God’s trustees a people who offered prayers for my healing.
Both during the illness and now, I try to get involved in the hospital crusade of my COVID-19 brothers.
I ask God to give humility, strength and health to people all over the world.
– What do you see, more or less people come to the temple since the world was in a pandemic?
– Respecting the regulations of both the state and medical authorities to overcome the COVID-19 epidemic, the Holy Synod of the BOC-BP constantly calls our brothers and sisters who visit parish churches, with prudence and discipline, to follow all the safety rules.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, we called on people with chronic illnesses or symptoms to refrain from going to the temples. This, of course, had an impact and the number of visits decreased.
“Are you not worried that the temples are not closed at some point?” The infection also killed his brothers, clergymen at the highest level, there is also a risk for the laity.
– I will answer very briefly, because many contradictory writings have been published. The temple is a sanatorium, real, real, that brings health to our spirit, without which our souls and hearts are dead.
There is a risk of infection in all medical institutions, but if we close them, where will they treat us?
– Would you donate blood plasma if you suffer from COVID-19, given that our Orthodox Church has some reservations about organ donation, for example? And if so or not, why?
“Of course!” What I don’t realize is his statement about the BOC.
What reserves of our church can we speak of, when everyone in it, both clergy and laity, strives not only to offer prayers, but also to help the sick and their families with voluntary efforts.
On Christian Family Day, for example, about 20 priests, some of them with their elders, donated blood to the Military Medical Academy, and a blood plasma donation will be made soon. I don’t see where the BOC reserves for donation are here.
“Why did the world suffer this ordeal?”
– The Holy Prophet Isaiah left us the following words: “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways, says the Lord. But as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than yours, and my thoughts are higher than yours. ” (Isaiah 55 :).
God’s providence is in fact much higher than our earthly transition logic. Sometimes it takes years to realize what happened to us and its importance.
One thing is for sure: God wants us to learn to live with faith, hope and love, to be better. The Savior himself calls us: “By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” (John 13:35).
Now, when the entire human race is suffering from the insidious epidemic and between pain and insecurity we seek salvation for our health and our lives, we have witnessed a paradox: we had to move visibly meters away to realize our closeness.
This is the moment when, I hope, we will hear the call of the Savior to forgive His apostles and followers. He pleads with all to be one heart and one soul (Acts 4:32). These most intimate words are also for us, the people of today.
– Many are bothered that stricter measures overshadow holiday preparations. Do you think people are sincere today when they celebrate Christmas? Is it a spiritual experience for them, or is it more a celebration of big purchases, of the big party, a Christmas like that of commercials?
– Whether we will celebrate Christmas with spirit, faith and heart or not is a question that I think everyone should answer for themselves.
Great grace is given to men through the birth of Christ. But to see it, we must open the eyes of our heart, as the Little Prince of the Exupéry teaches us.
For this to happen, we need to walk within ourselves, in our soul, the path from our egocentricity towards God and towards people. When we take it, we often experience shocks and internal struggles, but step by step comes the comfort that brings peace and joy.
We long for all people, both believers and non-believers. We are children of God and we cannot do without Him, because, as Saint John the Theologian says, “in Him was life” (Jn 1: 4). The sooner we realize this calm and eternal truth, the better.
– You are one of the young metropolitans, you do not hide your attraction to music, you communicate in a more modern way, you are also open to the media. Is there a gradual change of generations in the Holy Synod and will this be visible in its decisions?
– God calls each one of us through our parents at a time that pleases him. Salvation is not in the trap of the years in which we have appeared, but in our free will and in our works. I have great respect for all my brothers in the Holy Synod. Let us not forget that the older metropolitans translated the Bulgarian Orthodox Church during militant atheism, a time of trial for every believing heart.
At the forefront of this struggle was the clergy, even though they now refuse and the negatives of the then bishops and parish priests are sought. Atheist government officials and State Security did everything they could to discredit them and make the faith forget the people.
Well, that didn’t happen. God must not be blasphemed! Looking at our current workday, it is natural to use modern forms of communication to reach all who seek fellowship with the church.
– He remembered the time of militant atheism. You mentioned that the church of St. John of Rila, submerged in the waters of the Zhrebchevo dam, in the village of Zapalnya, which was removed during its construction, in which you restored the church services, will remain only as a monument to that unfaithful time. What will happen there?
– The temple has it and the vow we made: to serve there every first Sunday in August, will continue. It is landscaped, there are already windows and a door, the apartment is also good. And all this was possible thanks to volunteers like Stoyan and Krassimir Kralevi, Todor Azmyanov, Radka and Petar Bachvarovi, Petko Petkov, Nikolay Georgiev.
But the church is still the property of the state. We sent a letter requesting that it be returned to us, but due to the pandemic, the response will probably be delayed. But look, since the temple is located in the crown of the dam, it is very difficult to predict exactly what repairs will need to be made to restore it.
Everything is under God’s permission; It is true, now there is no water, but at some point it may flood the temple again. The good thing is that the people who live in the surrounding towns have a place to go to church, but the services in this church have become a tradition and, as I said, we will continue them.
Furthermore, it truly stands as a monument to that incredible time when villages and churches were destroyed to make dams. But you need a special project, which will be quite expensive, because you have to make water mirrors.
– What is your daily personal prayer? And your prayer for Bulgaria in these times?
– I ask God, going through the path of our current suffering, to revive our spirituality. The Holy Fathers remind us that our earthly life is pain and work. By suffering and working, we struggle with our selfishness. More importantly, when we are in palpable pain, we are ready to forget ourselves and see the other.
This teaches us love and the eternal truth that we are brothers and sisters, children of mother Bulgaria until her last hour.
Visiting card
Born March 8, 1976 in Kazanlak with the secular name Ognyan Kazandjiev
On September 1, 1996, he became a monk.
He studied at the Sofia Theological Seminary “St. Juan de Rila ”and in the Faculty of Theology of the University of Sofia“ St. Kliment Ohridski ”
He was the protosingle and vicar of the Metropolitan of Vratsa.
On December 11, 2016 he was elected Metropolitan of Stara Zagora
In December 2017, he was appointed official spokesman for the Holy Synod.
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