Scandal erupts in Bulgarian church in Turkey over imposition of Greek language

Divine service in the Bulgarian church in Edirne. Photo: bta.bg

A conflict has erupted in Turkey between the Bulgarian Orthodox community and the leadership of the Constantinople Church. On May 6, 2026, a metropolitan sent by the Patriarchate of Constantinople to the parish of St. George the Great Martyr in Edirne demanded that the Divine Liturgy be celebrated in Greek, but parishioners opposed the move. This was reported by the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency.

The hierarch’s name was not mentioned in the report, but the Metropolitan of Adrianople – the Greek name for Edirne – is Amphilochios Stergiou.

The dispute broke out during the feast day of St. George the Victorious. Hundreds of Bulgarians gathered for the festive service publicly objected to the metropolitan’s insistence on using the Greek language during worship.

Dimitri Yotef, chairman of the board of trustees of the Foundation of the Orthodox Churches of the Bulgarian Exarchate in Istanbul and representative of the Bulgarian community in Constantinople, explained the community’s position:

“On behalf of the Bulgarian community in Istanbul, we came today to Edirne to celebrate our traditional Divine service. We are the parish and the owners of this church, including the church of Saints Constantine and Helena in Edirne. However, upon our arrival, the priests sent by the Greek Metropolitan of Edirne informed us that we would not be allowed to conduct the service in Bulgarian. Instead, we were told that the service would be celebrated by Greek clergy. We did not agree to this, because this is a Bulgarian church, and we believe the services should be conducted in the Bulgarian language.”

Following the conflict, the trustees announced the temporary closure of the Bulgarian Orthodox churches in Edirne for liturgical services “until the issue is resolved.” The Bulgarians also barred the Metropolitan of Adrianople from entering their churches in the city.

“Starting today, we are closing our church for services until the question of worship in Bulgarian is resolved. At the same time, we have decided to prohibit the Metropolitan of Edirne from entering the church until permission is granted for services in Bulgarian. Of course, the church will remain open for visitors. People will still be able to come, pray, and light candles. There will be no restrictions on that. However, no services will be held,” Yotef added.

According to him, the decision applies to both churches in Edirne.

Radoslava Kafedzhiyska, Bulgaria’s consul general in Edirne, pointed to the heart of the disagreement:

“The metropolitan introduced restrictions on conducting services in Bulgarian. However, in the Republic of Turkey, services in every church or house of worship are conducted in the language of the respective community. Turkey is a state that equally protects the rights of different peoples, confessions, and religious groups. Nevertheless, I regret to say that His Eminence the metropolitan did not understand our sensitivity on this issue. He may be Greek, but this concerns the language, culture, and the right of a community to profess its faith in its native tongue.”

As previously reported by the UOJ, tensions between the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the Patriarchate of Constantinople intensified during the visit of Patriarch Daniil of Bulgaria to the Phanar. Bulgarian Orthodox communities in Edirne operate on the basis of historical agreements, but the jurisdictional status of their churches remains a subject of dispute between the Bulgarian and Constantinople Churches.

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