Metropolitan Joanikije visited the Sava Tomb in Veliko Tarnovo
The Metropolitan of Montenegro was on a multi-day visit to Bulgaria.
During his stay in Bulgaria, Metropolitan Joanikije of Montenegro and the Littoral visited the Church of the Holy Forty Martyrs in Veliko Tarnovo on February 2. There he paid his respects at the grave of Saint Sava. This place was the original burial site of the first archbishop of the Serbian Church. This is reported by mitropolija.com.
Veliko Tarnovo holds special historical and ecclesiastical significance, as Saint Sava died there in 1236 on his return from his second pilgrimage to the Holy Land. As the then capital of the Bulgarian Empire, the city thus became a central memorial site of Serbian Orthodox history. A year later, King Vladislav had the relics of the first archbishop of the Serbian Church transferred with the highest ecclesiastical and state honors in a solemn procession to the Mileševa Monastery, which subsequently developed into an important pilgrimage site, until the relics were finally destroyed during the Ottoman period.
The stay in Veliko Tarnovo was part of a multi-day journey by the Metropolitan through Bulgaria. Previously, Joanikije had already attended a Eucharistic celebration in Lovech, which was held on the occasion of the 25th episcopal jubilee of Metropolitan Gabriel. The holy liturgy was celebrated by Bulgarian Patriarch Daniel.
Previously, UOJ reported that Patriarch Porfirije visited the Savina Monastery in Montenegro.
