Bulgarian clergy and laity call on Holy Synod to defend UOC

Patriarch Daniel of Bulgaria. Photo: 24chasa.bg

Clergy and laity of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church have prepared an open letter to His Holiness Patriarch Daniel of Bulgaria and the Holy Synod, calling on them to speak out in defense of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The appeal was reported by the 24 Chasa publication.

The authors recall that more than three years ago, in April 2023, clergy and faithful had already sent a similar letter to the Synod, which was supported by more than 2,000 people. According to the signatories, the situation of the UOC has only worsened since then.

Particular concern is linked to a court hearing scheduled for July 2 in Kyiv, which, the letter states, could lead to the legal liquidation of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church following a lawsuit filed by Ukraine’s State Service for Ethnopolitics and Freedom of Conscience.

The appeal argues that the events unfolding in Ukraine remind Bulgarian believers both of the church schism of the 1990s in Bulgaria and of the campaign against the Russian Orthodox Church during the early Soviet period.

The authors believe that a ban on the UOC would amount to an attempt to replace the canonical Church with a state-backed religious structure.

“If we allow our brothers and sisters to be betrayed through our silence, this apostasy will inevitably lead to tragic consequences for all of us,” the letter states.

The signatories also draw attention to the situation of ethnic Bulgarians in Bessarabia who belong to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. They call on the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church to publicly support the UOC and defend the principles of the Church’s canonical order, freedom of conscience, and religious liberty.

In their view, the Bulgarian Church today has a unique opportunity to bear open witness to the truth, since it is not itself subject to similar state pressure.

As the UOJ reported, a hierarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church recently expressed condolences to the UOC following the strike on the Lavra.

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