A Bulgarian Orthodox Church delegation will board the government's "Falcon" aircraft and head to Jerusalem to collect the Holy Fire, which will be used in the "Alexander Nevski" cathedral in Sofia for the Saturday midnight service.

Plovdiv Bishop Nikolay will lead the delegation in Jerusalem to bring to Bulgaria the "great miracle" of the Holy Fire that "has comes down from God".

The Passover liturgy will begin at 23:30 on Saturday in the Sofia cathedral and will be led by Patriarch Maxim, who will then proclaim Christ's Resurrection at 24:00 in the square in front of "Alexander Nevski" with the words "Christ is Risen" (in Bulgarian: "Hristos Voskrece").

The Holy Mass of Christ's Resurrection will begin in churches across Bulgaria at 24:00.

According to Orthodox tradition worshipers circle round the churches three times after the Service, before exchanging painted Easter eggs.