On November 19, after the Assembly of Priests at the St. Mary’s Church in Sofia, Primate of the Diocese, Rev. Fr. Archimandrite Isaac Poghosyan officiated a Divine and eternal Liturgy. The celebrant was pastor of the St. Gevorg Armenian Church in Plovdiv, Rev. Fr. Priest Hrach Muradyan.

During the liturgy, the preacher, His Holiness congratulated the gathered and gave a speech in which he touched upon the symbol of the day. “Besides Christ, we have many examples, and it is our duty to follow the examples of the saints because, if we can live without our people, our people won’t be able to live without us…”

After the liturgy, on behalf of the class of priests, Fr. Archimandrite Isaac Poghosyan solemnly granted the icon of St. Gevorg Warrior to the eldest servant of the Diocese, Fr. Priest Gevorg Khacheryan as a token of appreciation of his longstanding spiritual service.

The Divine and eternal Liturgy was attended by several believers, including the employees of the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia in Bulgaria.

The attending Bulgarian-Armenian children received Certificates of Appreciation of the RA Ministry of Education and Science.

Within the framework of the events dedicated to the 25^th anniversary of Independence of the Republic of Armenia, at the initiative of the RA Ministry of Diaspora, the National Aesthetic Center of the RA Ministry of Education and Science had organized a painting competition for the children of the Armenian schools of the Diaspora, and the exhibited paintings were included in the exclusive collection.

In the summer of 2016, at the initiative of Primate of the Armenian Diocese of Bulgaria, Fr. Archimandrite Isaac Poghosyan, consultant of the Embassy of the Republic of Armenia in Bulgaria, Mrs. Nelly Matevossian and the Coordinating Council of Sofia and with the support of the AGBU and Homenetmen, Armenian children participated in the program and sent their paintings to Armenia.

On November 20, 2016, the St. Mary’s Armenian Church of Sofia hosted a festive event during which His Holiness performed the Blessing of Children, after which the children received certificates of appreciation.

On the same day, on the occasion of the birthday of Fr. Archimandrite Isaac Poghosyan, the children of the Armenian Sunday Kindergarten of ARS Sofia Chapter had also prepared a surprise. Under the direction of their teachers, Mrs. Vardanush Manuelyan and Mrs. Snezhana Hovakimyan, they transferred flowers and gifts to His Holiness and gave a concert. The meeting was held in a warm atmosphere, and everyone took a group photo at the end.