Kirill - Patriarch of Moscow and all the Rus' and Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church. File photo The head of the Russian Orthodox Church Patriarch Kirill is to visit Bulgaria in April around the Easter holiday.

The new was announced Saturday by the Bulgarian Holy Synod.

While in the country, Kirill will meet with President, Rosen Plevneliev, Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, and the Speaker of the Parliament, Tsetska Tsacheva.

He will also visit the Plovdiv bishopric for a meeting with metropolitan Nikolay and for a trip to the nearby Bachkovo monastery, where Kirill will pay tribute to the Bachkovo miracle-worker icon of Virgin Mary, which is very popular in Russia.

The last trip of a Russian Patriarch in Bulgaria happened in the now-distant 1994 when Aleksii II traveled to Sofia.

Kirill is a Russian Orthodox bishop who has been Patriarch of Moscow and all the Rus' and Primate of the Russian Orthodox Church since 1 February 2009.