Bulgarian Patriarch Daniil has called on students and university lecturers to use their knowledge for the benefit of society as Bulgaria marks the start of the new academic year.

In a message to students and academic staff, Patriarch Daniil wished them health, strength and success in their studies and research. The academic year at Bulgarian universities begins on October 1.

The Patriarch stressed that knowledge should not become an end in itself. Education, he said, should help people better understand the world and apply what they learn for the benefit of others and the wider community.

“Knowledge is not and should not be an end in itself,” Patriarch Daniil said in his message. He encouraged students and educators to continue the tradition of learning and scholarship while pursuing knowledge with practical and social value.

Daniil also highlighted the role of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in the development of education and recalled the legacy of Saints Cyril and Methodius and their disciples, whose work played a major role in the development of Slavic literacy and culture.

The beginning of the academic year was also marked at the Faculty of Theology of Sofia University, where a solemn Divine Liturgy was held at the academic Church of St. Clement of Ohrid.

Metropolitan Ioann of Varna and Veliki Preslav wished students and lecturers health, peace and success in their studies. He urged first-year students to take an active part in the educational and spiritual life of the faculty.

Patriarch Daniil concluded his message by wishing students and academic staff a “successful and blessed new academic year.”