The Patriarch of Bulgaria revealed that the issue of the OCU was discussed in Istanbul

Bulgarian Patriarch Daniil. Photo: bg-patriarshia.bg

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The Primate of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, Patriarch Daniil in an interview with the program "Panorama" on national television noted that during his visit to Istanbul, the Ukrainian issue was a topic of discussion with the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. 

According to Patriarch Daniil, even before the visit, in negotiations with the Ecumenical Patriarchate, he insisted "that during the visit and joint services there would be no hierarchs or clergy of this Church (OCU – Ed.)". At that time, Patriarch Bartholomew gave such a promise.

He recalled that shortly after the formation of the OCU in 2019, he, still being the Metropolitan of Vidin, wrote a letter to the Local Churches criticizing the legality of the creation of this organization. According to Patriarch Daniil, during a personal meeting, he apologized to Patriarch Bartholomew for this letter. However, these apologies concerned the form of the letter, but not its content. 

"He said that this issue is forgotten. But at the same time, I told him that I support all the theses outlined in my letter. Because here we are dealing with dogmatic, canonical, ecclesiological issues," emphasized Patriarch Daniil.

The Patriarch also expressed hope that the Church in the future will give a conciliar response to all unresolved issues.

As UOJ wrote, earlier Patriarch Daniil stated that the position on the OCU remains unchanged. "The Bulgarian Orthodox Church has not recognized the OCU and does not mention it in the diptychs," emphasized Patriarch Daniil.

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