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Patriarch Kirill returns home with puppy gift

The president of Bulgaria, the head of the Bulgarian parliament and the prime minister also received Patriarch Kirill with great honors

MOSCOW, April 30 (Itar-Tass) — Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia Kirill returned from his trip to Bulgaria on Sunday with numerous gifts from warm-hearted Bulgarians, including a fluffy and yelping puppy.

“Its name is Trajan. It’s a six-month-old Bulgarian Shepherd puppy, a gift from the students of the Sofia-based University of cultural heritage which His Holiness visited at the end of his trip,” the patriarch’s press service reported on Sunday. The source added that the dog’s home will be the patriarch’s residence in Peredelkino near Moscow.

The Bulgarian students explained that the puppy had been named in honor of Bulgarian Czar Trajan rather than The Trojan Horse from Homer’s ‘Illiad’.

This moving gift is just another illustration of the friendly feelings which the Bulgarian people have towards Russia. Bulgaria cherishes the memory of Russian soldiers and officers who fell for the liberation of their Slavic brothers in the 19th and 20th centuries. The main street in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia bears the name of Russian Czar Alexander II. The city’s main cathedral is named after Alexander Nevsky.

Thousands of people welcomed Patriarch Kirill in Plovdiv. The reception was unprecedented. The crowds chanting “Russia!” greeted the patriarch of Moscow with applause.

The president of Bulgaria, the head of the Bulgarian parliament and the prime minister also received Patriarch Kirill with great honors.

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