Collection "Life and Hymnography" Marks Anniversary of Patriarch Neofit

17.10.2025 | Religion and spirituality

The second edition of the collection "Life and Hymnography" is dedicated to the 80th anniversary of the birth of Patriarch Neofit. The edition includes his works and church hymns, enriching the Orthodox church treasury.

Снимка от Petar Milošević, Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)

In this year 2025, the year of the eightieth anniversary of the birth of the blessed and ever-memorable Bulgarian Patriarch Neophyte, the second edition of the collection "Life and Hymnography" was held.

The event was realized with the blessing of the Bulgarian Patriarch and Metropolitan of Sofia Daniel and with the assistance of the Sofia Holy Metropolis. The Sofia Metropolis informs that a special address from Patriarch Daniel is included at the beginning of the collection.

The first edition of the collection "Life and Hymnography" was printed in 2015. The occasion for its appearance was the 70th anniversary of the Bulgarian Patriarch and Metropolitan of Sofia Neophyte. The publisher responsible for the publication was "Bulgarian Bestseller", and the manager was Yuliana Tomova. The collection was a compilation of the works of Patriarch Neophyte, intended for the church singer. The work included selected church hymns, whose texts were precisely notated (chanted) or transcribed with skillful calligraphy by Patriarch Neophyte himself. It is for this reason that they were scanned, instead of being typed on a computer. From the time of his studies at the Theological Seminary and the Theological Academy, as well as over the years until the publication of the collection, our Holy Patriarch, regardless of his commitments, created thousands of pages of musical notation. He found time to write articles on musical and social topics in the periodical press, actively participating in both the church and musical life in the country. The Sofia Metropolis notes that all this valuable work has contributed significantly to the enrichment of our Orthodox church hymnography treasury.

As BTA reported, on October 15, the blessed Bulgarian Patriarch Neophyte would have turned eighty years old. On this occasion, a number of events were organized in the capital in memory of the head of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, who departed from earthly life in 2024.

Today, the day on which eighty years have passed since the birth of the Bulgarian Patriarch and Metropolitan of Sofia Neophyte, his name already adorns the hall of the Faculty of Theology (BF) of Sofia University "St. Kliment Ohridski". This was announced by the Bulgarian Patriarch and Metropolitan of Sofia Daniel during the ceremony of the solemn naming of the hall. On October 15, a requiem holy liturgy was served in the metropolitan cathedral "St. Nedelya", followed by a panikhida and trisagion at the grave of Patriarch Neophyte. Patriarch Daniel, metropolitans, bishops and priests from the Bulgarian Orthodox Church - Bulgarian Patriarchate participated in the mourning services.