The common cultural and spiritual heritage shared by Bulgarians and Russians is the foundation on which to develop relations between the peoples of the two countries. This was emphasised by President Rosen Plevneliev and the Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill, who met today at 2 Dondoukov Boulevard.

At the meeting, Patriarch Kirill said that Bulgarians and Russians share a common religious and cultural heritage. “The work of Cyril and Methodius laid the foundations of the cultural identity of Bulgarian, Russian and other Slavic peoples, and the first missionaries in Russia, bearers of the new Christian values, were Bulgarian clergy,” the Russian Patriarch said. He said that it was these cultural and spiritual ties that had survived the centuries, were the foundation for the widespread heroism of Russian soldiers during the Liberation War (1877-1878), and that were alive today.

President Plevneliev said that in the past 20 years, faith and Christian values had been playing an increasingly important place in the Bulgarian family and society, which without doubt was the result of the contribution of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. There was hope that the good traditions established between the two Orthodox churches in the promotion of Christian virtues would continue in the future.