Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill said he was aggrieved by what he called the Bulgarian government’s attempts to dilute his country’s role during the 1877-1878 Russo-Turkish war, which paved the way for Bulgaria’s liberation after five centuries of Ottoman rule.
On March 3 Bulgaria marked the 140th anniversary of the signing of the 1878 San Stefano Treaty that ended the war and proclaimed Bulgaria’s independence with Kirill and Bulgarian Orthodox Patriarch Neofit conducting a remembrance service at a monument built to mark the famous battle of Shipka Pass.
