Within his official visit to Georgia, President Rosen Plevneliev met the Catholicos-Patriarch of the Georgian Orthodox Church in Tbilisi. 

 

“The friendly relations between the peoples of Bulgaria and Georgia date back centuries ago – we are among the oldest orthodox nations and only together can we guarantee our right to alone determine our future,” the President said at the meeting.

 

Rosen Plevneliev and His Holiness and Beatitude Iliya II highlighted the traditionally good relations between the Bulgarian and Georgian orthodox churches. The second biggest Bulgarian monastery – that of Bachkovo, is a symbol of the historic spiritual and cultural ties between the two peoples, the Head of State said. The Monastery was founded in 1083 by the Georgian Grigorii Bakuriani as a Georgian monastery. The cloister maintains active relations up to the late Middle Ages.