Bulgarian hierarch: We must view the war in Ukraine through Christ's eyes

Metropolitan Nikolai. Photo: bg-patriarshia.bg

On March 3, 2025, Metropolitan Nikolai of Plovdiv of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church reminded that three years ago, Orthodox Russia declared war on Orthodox Ukraine.

According to him, for the third consecutive year, Orthodox Christians have been killing each other, while Bulgarian politicians, instead of seeking peace, are merely pursuing their own interests.

“For three years, Bulgarian politicians, instead of calling from the very beginning for Orthodox Christian morality and actively engaging in mediation missions for the immediate cessation of the war, have left this role to others. Meanwhile, they, following an old Bulgarian tradition, have been contemplating which side of the great powers to take and calculating the budgetary benefits of selling ammunition,” said Metropolitan Nikolai.

He also emphasized that the Church’s role is not to engage in geopolitics but to remind people of Orthodox principles, pray for peace, and guide rulers toward spiritual truths.

“Some may say that the Church should not engage in geopolitics. Of course, it should not. Neither in geopolitics nor in politics in general. The mission of the Church is to remind us of the principles and values of Holy Orthodoxy, to pray for peace, to care for the salvation of the God-loving people. And to call on secular rulers not to seek which side to take, but to take the side that Jesus Christ Himself would choose,” the hierarch stated.

According to him, if one can answer the question of which position Christ would take in this conflict, then it will become clear which position Bulgaria should take.

“Only if we remember that we are the oldest Orthodox state and one of the oldest states in Europe can we hope that we will be heard and that we will be a subject of history, not just its object,” Metropolitan Nikolai emphasized.

Earlier, UOJ reported that Bulgarian Patriarch Daniel expressed his opinion on the persecution of Orthodox Christians, the seizure of churches, and the killings of priests in Ukraine.

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