The news of the terrorist attack against the Orthodox St. Elias Church in the suburbs of Damascus, carried out on June 22, 2025, shook the Orthodox community in Bulgaria and provoked sharp reactions against the violence towards peaceful religious communities in Syria. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs published a position on its website firmly condemning the barbaric attack on the Orthodox church, which took the lives of dozens of people and injured many believers. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs expressed condolences to the relatives of the victims and called for immediate action by the transitional Syrian authorities and the international community to guarantee the security of all religious minorities in the country.

Bulgarian Patriarch Daniil also expressed condolences. In his address to Patriarch John X of Antioch, the Bulgarian patriarch condemned “this senseless act of demonic violence” and called on the state authorities in Syria to guarantee the life and religious freedom of all Christian communities in the country. Patriarch Daniil also appealed to all “national and international organizations that can have a beneficial influence in ending the violence in Syria and the region.”

Editor: Darina Grigorova

Publication in English: Alexander Markov

Photo: EPA/BGNES