On the other hand, the Greek bishops of the diocese also tried in every possible way to thwart his plans. However, the Bulgarian bishop did not give up and toured the villages in Edirne and Aegean Thrace, helping to build churches and Bulgarian schools, consecrating newly built buildings and ordaining priests. And although he did not succeed in this endeavor, the Bulgarian community in Edirne to this day continues to support the two Orthodox churches of St. St. Constantine and Elena and of St. George the Victorious, which remain the only ones in the city. ‎

Thanks to the voluntary efforts of Father Filip Cikirik, a descendant of Bulgarians from Edirne, the church of St. George the Victorious was saved from ruin after it closed its doors in 1951. Father Philip supported it with his own funds together with his son Alexander Cikirik, who managed to organize charity campaigns and initiatives for its restoration. ‎

20 years ago, the restored church was solemnly opened and consecrated on May 9, 2004 by His Eminence Metropolitan Neophyte of Ruse. Until March 17, 2023, Father Alexander Cikirik developed a real educational activity, but after his death, the diocese was orphaned and remained without a priest:‎

"We will try to continue the work of Father Alexander because it is a worthy deed and must be maintained", noted Father Angel from Svilengrad on the day of the anniversary of the death of the priest from Edirne. "Bulgaria and the Bulgarian spirit must be maintained and services in the church should be performed only in the Bulgarian language. This is a Bulgarian temple, built with Bulgarian funds, by Bulgarians, who gave their lives, dedicated their lives, so that these churches are in the state we see them in now. We will try to serve, but this does not depend only on us, but also on the blessing of Metropolitan Amfilochius of Adrianople, who has given his verbal consent that services in this church should be conducted in Bulgarian."‎

"Soon, we will have a church service at least once a month", assures Archim. Atanasiy Sultanov from the Diocese of Stara Zagora. "Unfortunately, there is a huge lack of priests in Bulgaria and no one can be permanently sent here. If it becomes necessary to appoint a permanent priest, I guess the Ecumenical Patriarchate and the Bulgarian Patriarchate will find an agreement and a priest will be sent. Metropolitan Amfilochius is open to this. After all, he is the Metropolitan of Edirne and we must have his blessing."