Bulgarian Church between faith and politics: canons vs OCU recognition
Bulgarian archbishops concelebrated with Dumenko’s representatives in Phanar. Should we expect the BOC to officially recognize the OCU? If so, why and when?
On 19 May 2024, a liturgy was held at the Patriarchal and Stauropegial Monastery of the Life-Giving Spring, located in the Balıklı (Greek: Βαλουκλή) district of Istanbul. The liturgy was attended by the hierarchs of the Phanar and the Bulgarian Church, along with "hierarchs" of the OCU.
The liturgy was officiated by Patriarch Bartholomew. He was concelebrated by several Phanariot hierarchs, as well as Metropolitans Nicholas of Plovdiv, Cyprian of Stara Zagora, Iakov of Dorostol, and Bishops Zion of Velichka and Vissarion of Smolyan of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. Representatives of the OCU, Yevstratiy Zoria and Avraamy Lotysh, also participated in the liturgy, which was presented by pro-Dumenko sources as "the recognition of the OCU by the Bulgarian Church". Let's analyse what is behind this concelebration.
The Bulgarian Church and the OCU until 2024
In the photos of the joint service of the Phanariots, Bulgarians and the OCU, published by Greek media, Yevstratiy Zoria appears the happiest. Understandably so, a person lacking canonical ordination and one of the most active haters of the UOC and enemies of the Church was given the honor of "concelebrating" with a number of respected and influential hierarchs. Avraamy Lotysh looks less pleased, seemingly not fully comprehending what was happening around him.
At the same time, it is unlikely that the Bulgarians did not understand who they were dealing with. Therefore, this situation looks all the more regrettable.
Because as recently as 2015, the Synod of the Bulgarian Church stated in a letter to the President of Ukraine: “The so-called 'UOC of the Kyiv Patriarchate' is not recognized by any Local Church in the world. <...> We do not have Eucharistic and prayerful communion with religious structures that have fallen into schism.”
As we can see, shortly before the "unification" of the UOC-KP and the UAOC, the Bulgarians maintained that these structures were schismatic.
The Bulgarians held this viewpoint even on the eve of the OCU receiving the Tomos from Patriarch Bartholomew. For instance, on 4 October 2018, during a regular meeting of the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, its members discussed the alarming situation resulting from the actions of the Ecumenical Patriarchate on the canonical territory of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Members of the Holy Synod of the BOC – Metropolitan Gabriel of Lovech, Metropolitan John of Varna and Veliki Preslav and Metropolitan Daniel of Vidin – called for this issue to be addressed at a Pan-Orthodox Council. However, this initiative by the respected hierarchs of the Bulgarian Church was not supported by the Synod.
In January 2019, when the OCU was already recognized by Phanar, the Synod of Bulgaria assigned a special commission, chaired by Metropolitan Cyprian of Stara Zagora, to consider the issue of the schismatic Ukrainian Church. He firmly refuted the information from some Ukrainian resources that the "Ukrainian issue" had split the unity of the Bulgarian Church's episcopate. The Metropolitan stated that the BOC had not yet made any decisions regarding the OCU, “and there is no decision from the supreme body of the BOC on the created canonical casus”.
At the same time, the Bulgarian edition "Glasove" wrote that seven bishops of the Bulgarian Church addressed the Synod with a letter stating the need to support the canonical Ukrainian Orthodox Church.
Earlier, during a 2018 visit to Kyiv at the invitation of the UOC to celebrate the Baptism of Rus, Metropolitan Cyprian said in an interview with the UOJ: "Church life must be based on church canons. This is the foundation of our Orthodox Churches. Anything outside this canonical foundation cannot be correct and true."
In early February 2019, the same Metropolitan Cyprian (Kazandzhiev) of Stara Zagora expressed hope that the "Ukrainian question" would be resolved within a canonical framework and voiced support for His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry and the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. Metropolitan Cyprian emphasized that "with such a Primate, the UOC will remain one, apostolic, and catholic" and "will stay whole – by God's grace and allowance".
Meanwhile, according to Metropolitan Gabriel of Lovech, the church situation in Ukraine should be resolved by a Pan-Orthodox Council, and the decision of the Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate does not conform to church canons, as only the Church that imposed the punishment, in this case, the ROC, can lift it. Metropolitan Gabriel stressed that the BOC "recognizes only one Church in Ukraine, the one headed by His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry".
However, when Patriarch Theophilos of Jerusalem invited the Bulgarians to participate in the Council of Primates in Amman, the Synod of their Church declined the invitation.
Meanwhile, Patriarch Bartholomew was slowly and steadily persuading the Bulgarians to recognize the OCU, openly stating that “the Ecumenical Patriarchate encompasses all peoples and nations to whom it has passed the Orthodox faith through missionary activity and Orthodox baptism”, and “the first of these peoples is the Bulgarian people, the Church of Bulgaria. The eldest daughter of the Church of Constantinople is the Orthodox Church of Bulgaria”.
On May 17, 2019, Metropolitan Daniel of Vidin, the hierarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, addressed a letter to all the metropolitans of the Greek Orthodox Church regarding Ukrainian autocephaly.
In his letter, Metropolitan Daniel claims that the Ecumenical Patriarch is a person who is attempting to usurp power in world Orthodoxy through violence. The Bulgarian Church archbishop calls on Orthodox hierarchs to “raise their voices” against what is happening. “In this case, the Patriarch of Constantinople is not a father but a person who is trying to seize power through violence,” writes the metropolitan. “And these ambitions extend not only to the Holy Metropolis of Kyiv but to the entire Orthodox Church because Patriarch Bartholomew claims the right to intervene in the internal affairs of each Local Church. If we are true children of our Mother Church, the Orthodox Church, we are obliged to raise our voices against what is happening; otherwise, we will support the one who, using power, tries to usurp rights that belong exclusively to the whole Church.”
The metropolitan expressed confidence that the actions of the Ecumenical Patriarchate are destroying Orthodoxy and ultimately leading to a new schism, similar to the one that occurred in 1054.
Metropolitan Gabriel of Lovech holds the same stance, stating that the UOC is the only canonical Church in Ukraine: “The only canonical Orthodox Church in Ukraine is the Church headed by Metropolitan Onuphry, the Church that has God's grace. And if a Church does not have God's grace, then it is meaningless, because in such a church one cannot be saved.”
Upon arriving at the Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra in June 2019, Metropolitan Gabriel emphasized that he “came with the blessing of the Primate of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, by the decision of the Holy Synod of the BOC, to congratulate on behalf of our Church His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry on his anniversary and his Saint’s Day, and to convey the love from our Church and the Christians of Bulgaria, who love the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, respect and love its Primate, Vladyka Onuphry.”
On November 4, 2021, at the Metochion of the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus in Sofia, Metropolitan Seraphim of Nevrokop said in his sermon after the Divine Liturgy that the Bulgarian Church prays for the enlightenment of those who maliciously distort the truth in Ukraine and for a way to overcome the schism: "We pray for a solution to be found soon—first and foremost through repentance and a rational acceptance of historical circumstances as they are. These clearly testify to the path of autocephaly of the Russian Orthodox Church and clearly indicate those who have fallen away from the unity of this Local Church. We are concerned about what is happening today, when coercion is being used to impose a situation that is difficult for Orthodox people to accept," noted the hierarch of the Bulgarian Church.
Let us also recall the words of the same Metropolitan Nicholas of Plovdiv (who concelebrated with Zoria and Lotysh in Phanar), who stated during a service at the Russian Metochion in Sofia: "I assure you that we are doing everything possible to maintain unity in Holy Orthodoxy. We remember the command to 'keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace' (Eph. 4:3)," said the hierarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, adding that "we will always be grateful and appreciative with love towards the Russian people. And we will work for the unity of Orthodox peoples."
First steps towards Dumenko
However, some actions by individual Bulgarian hierarchs indicated that the situation within the Bulgarian Church regarding the OCU was complicated. The first step towards Dumenko from the Bulgarians occurred not in May 2024 but back on 27 November 2019, when Metropolitan Nicholas of Plovdiv led a service in the Langadas Diocese of the Greek Church. The head of this diocese, Metropolitan Nikolaos, a strong supporter of the OCU, included Epifaniy Dumenko in the local diptychs—against the tradition that only the primate commemorates the heads of other Churches. At that time, there was no reaction from the Synod of the Bulgarian Church or from the Synods of other Churches.
However, there was a reaction from Dumenko, who stated in December 2019 that such a "hybrid recognition" was the beginning of "final recognition by those Churches that are now somewhat hesitant". Later on, he named five Local Orthodox Churches ready to recognize the OCU.
Moreover, just a few days after this, Patriarch Neophyte, during a meeting with Metropolitan Nikodim of Zhytomyr, said that he was aware of the real situation regarding the state of Orthodoxy in Ukraine and asked to convey his greetings and support to His Beatitude Metropolitan Onuphry of Kyiv and All Ukraine.
The second step towards recognizing Dumenko occurred on 26 December 2021, when Metropolitan Cyprian of Stara Zagora, the head of the canonical commission on recognizing the OCU, who had previously stated that no decision had been made on this matter, participated in a liturgy where Epifaniy Dumenko was commemorated as "Metropolitan of Kyiv".
This situation was commented on by Archpriest Mykolay Danylevych, who said that the Phanariots had simply "set up" Metropolitan Cyprian.
However, as in the case of Metropolitan Nicholas of Plovdiv, there was no reaction from the Synod or the Patriarch of the Bulgarian Church (nor from other Churches). However, the process of gradual drift towards recognizing the OCU, especially considering the pressure from the State Department on the Bulgarians, was so evident that more than a year ago, in April 2023, we wrote: “Very soon we can expect some statements from individual Georgian, Bulgarian or Romanian hierarchs supporting the OCU. Perhaps, someone will even concelebrate with Dumenko’s representatives.”
Unfortunately, we were right...
The active phase
The active and open phase of promoting the recognition of the OCU by the Bulgarian Church began when in July 2023 Metropolitan Emmanuel of Chalcedon practically demanded that Patriarch Neophyte enter into "communion" with Dumenko. However, this blatant interference in the affairs of the Bulgarian Church by Metropolitan Emmanuel provoked indignation from Metropolitan Nicholas of Plovdiv, who reminded the high-ranking Phanariot that in the Orthodox Church “there is no single command centre that gives orders. Here, no one claims the right to be the final source of truth. Here, every voice is equally valued and equally important, and has the right to be heard.”
However, we all understood that some Bulgarian hierarchs, supported by the country's authorities, were increasingly drifting towards the OCU. When priests of the ROC were expelled from Bulgaria in September 2023, we wrote in the article that this situation “has every chance of ending not only with the severance of relations between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Bulgarian Patriarchate but also could influence the so-called ‘Ukrainian question’, that is, the recognition of the OCU by the Bulgarian Church.”
Moreover, the Phanar only intensified the pressure, which became evident when Dumenko arrived as part of the delegation of the Constantinople Church at the funeral of Patriarch Neophyte.
It was clear that this was done with one aim—to make the hierarchs of the Bulgarian Church “get used to” the idea that sooner or later they would have to co-serve with this person dressed in a priest's robe. Notably, when Dumenko attempted to enter the altar from the solea where he stood, the believers present at the funeral shouted, "Serhiy Dumenko, get out! Schismatics and heretics, get out!"
It is worth noting that the idea of recognizing the OCU is not popular among the laity of the Bulgarian Church. For example, a well-known political scientist in Bulgaria, Vassilianna Merheb, said in January 2020 that Dumenko’s structure is a geo-religious project whose creators have nothing to do with the Church.
What's the outcome?
In the Bulgarian Church, the issue of recognizing the OCU is one of those factors that create division among the hierarchs (as it does in other Churches that have already recognized Dumenko).
In fact, within the Synod, there are two camps—supporters and opponents of the OCU. While the opponents are guided solely by canonical norms, the supporters have made a significant leap over the past few years—from adhering to the canons to co-serving with Zoria and Lotysh.
Moreover, they have violated not only the Church canons, which many hierarchs who have recognized Dumenko now disregard, but they have also betrayed their brothers and themselves. The opponents of the OCU are hierarchs who command great respect among the faithful of the Bulgarian Church and other Churches.
Without obtaining consent to co-serve with Dumenko’s followers, the Bulgarian Church hierarchs (Metropolitans Nicholas of Plovdiv, Cyprian of Stara Zagora and Jacob of Dorostol), who until recently have stated that the issue of recognizing the OCU should be resolved within a canonical framework and by the Synod of the Bulgarian Church, have now aligned themselves with the schismatics.
If we analyse their act from the point of view of Christian conscience, what can it be called but treachery? And if a person says one thing and then disregards what they said, can such a person not be called a liar? And if the OCU seeks recognition through such deceitful actions, can this "recognition" be considered pleasing to God?
We believe our readers can answer these questions themselves.
The question remains, why did the aforementioned hierarchs go against their conscience, their fellow bishops, and the faithful?
The first reason is politics.
On 18 May 2024, before co-serving with the schismatics, the delegation of the Bulgarian Church invited the head of Phanar to the elections and enthronement of the new patriarch of the Bulgarian Church. Patriarch Bartholomew mentioned that he had already received a letter from the locum tenens of the patriarchal throne of the BOC, Metropolitan Gregory of Vratsa. It is unclear whether this letter was coordinated with the Synod or if it was a personal initiative of a particular group of Bulgarian bishops. We assume the latter option is more likely.
Among the delegation of the BOC, there were some representatives of the authorities and business, which, of course, reminds of how Ukrainian authorities and businessmen brought Tomos for the OCU to Ukraine. In particular, among the Bulgarians who visited Patriarch Bartholomew were Radomir Cholakov, an MP from the political party "Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria", and Zdravko Dimitrov, the founder of this party and former mayor of Plovdiv. Their party promises Bulgarians rapid prosperity and a quick solution to all problems.
It has been in the parliament for a long time – since 2007. And for many years, its representatives have occupied a leading position among Bulgarian parliamentarians. However, as is usual among politicians, their promises are not fulfilled, which, of course, affects the trust of ordinary people.
So, the recent parliamentary elections, from the point of view of party functionaries, were unsuccessful, because "Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria" received only 25% of the votes (in 2009 – almost 40%). And it is natural that, as in Ukraine, politicians decided to instrumentalize the Church in their own interests.
"Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria" are supporters of the Euro-Atlantic alliance and NATO, and, naturally in this case, they are not interested in supporting the canonical course of the Church, as this course is perceived as "pro-Russian".
For this reason, Macedonian media stated that the visit to Patriarch Bartholomew indicates that "the Bulgarian Orthodox Church is successfully realigning itself with the side of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, abandoning the policy of loyalty that it has been pursuing towards the Russian Orthodox Church until now."
The presence of Patriarch Bartholomew should guarantee the election of the "right" patriarch for Bulgaria, who will support the Phanar’s line.
The price of this support is also known.
As early as July 2024, we wrote that "Metropolitan Nicholas of Plovdiv represents a group of Bulgarian bishops who advocate for a revision of the place of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in the Diptychs".
He is an active opponent of the BOC course, oriented towards maintaining normal relations with the ROC. In October 2019, long before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Metropolitan Nicholas refused to participate in receiving the ROC delegation.
Explaining his refusal, he wrote that "the time when the position of the Bulgarian Patriarchate (regarding the recognition of the OCU – Ed.) will be publicly announced and conveyed to other Local Churches depends on the place assigned to us in the Diptychs".
According to him, "for us, compliance with the order in the Diptychs is currently of fundamental importance. So, if someone thinks that our opinion is important and needs to be heard urgently, he should remember that the Bulgarian Orthodox Church has been autocephalous since 927".
In March 2022, indicating his position regarding the OCU, he said that "many years ago, in the Ukrainian eparchy of the Russian Orthodox Church, a desire for separation and autocephaly began... There is an ancient canonical rule according to which Churches adhere to administrative-territorial division and state borders and have the right to their own autocephalous church organization when creating a new territorial-state unit". However, these statements are at odds with what he said earlier, but who will remember them?
The election of a new patriarch of Bulgaria will take place as early as June this year. In the run-up to these elections, the bishops who wish to gain power in the Bulgarian Church have relied on the Phanar’s support. And we can be 100% sure that if their candidate wins, the issue of the OCU recognition by the Bulgarian Orthodox Church will be a foregone conclusion.
But even if this does not happen, it must be borne in mind that Patriarch Bartholomew will be in Sofia not just as an observer but most likely will lead a synodal liturgy, during which Dumenko will be commemorated. What will be the reaction of those bishops who do not recognize the OCU? What will be the reaction of ordinary believers in Bulgaria? We'll wait and see.
In any case, it is already clear that in the case of the BOC, politics is again more important than canons, that political interests prevail over the interests of the Church. This applies not only to Bulgarians but also to the ROC, which, in order to please politicians, supported the war and disregarded the Gospel. As a result, ordinary believers of Ukraine, the faithful of other countries and in general all of Orthodoxy suffer.
Only God can stop this process. Because Bulgarians are definitely not the last. We can only wait and pray.
