New Patriarch of Bulgaria: Who is he and what is next?
Metropolitan Daniel of Vidin has become the new Patriarch of the BOC. What is he like, what can the Church expect from him, and what challenges might he face?
If someone had told us before the elections that Metropolitan Daniel of Vidin would become the new Patriarch of Bulgaria, we wouldn't have believed it. No one would. Because his candidacy was practically unnoticed before the initial stage of elections, and even after becoming a candidate for Patriarch, he was considered to have the least chance.
In our previous article, we mentioned that from a human perspective, his victory was almost impossible. But only "almost". Reflecting on why, in our opinion, Metropolitan Daniel still managed to win, there were four reasons (compared to three for Gregory of Vratsa and Gabriel of Lovech):
- •He has a clear position regarding the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) and the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
- He attracts those who consider themselves patriots of Bulgaria and are categorically against Constantinople's interference in the affairs of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church (BOC).
- He is seen as a person daring to speak the truth and who could elevate the Bulgarian Church to a higher level than it is now.
- He is capable of resisting pressure from authorities on the Church.
Therefore, his election as Patriarch of Bulgaria could be seen as a setback for the Ecumenical Patriarchate, evidenced by the disappointment among supporters of the Ecumenical Patriarchate. However, it would be premature to rush to conclusions. We'll explain why below, but for now, let's talk about who the new Bulgarian Patriarch is.
Brief Biography of Metropolitan Daniel
Metropolitan Daniel (Atanas Nikolov) was born on March 2, 1972, in Smolyan. He received his primary and secondary education in his hometown and then studied English philology and theology at Sofia University St. Kliment Ohridski.
In 1997, Daniel became a novice at the Monastery of St. George the Great Martyr under the spiritual guidance of Metropolitan Nathanael of Nevrokop. In 1999, he was tonsured as a monk and later ordained as a hierodeacon. In 2002, he graduated from the Faculty of Theology.
Metropolitan Daniel served in various monasteries and was ordained as a hieromonk. In 2008, he was consecrated as a bishop and appointed as the vicar of Metropolitan Nathanael of Nevrokop, and later, the vicar of Metropolitan Joseph of the USA, Canada, and Australia. Since 2018, he has held the position of Metropolitan of Vidin.
At the Patriarchal Electoral Church Council, delegates elected Metropolitan Daniel of Vidin as the new Patriarch of Bulgaria and Metropolitan of Sofia. The election took place in the second round, with the candidates being Metropolitan Gregory of Vratsa and Metropolitan Daniel of Vidin. Metropolitan Daniel received 69 votes, Metropolitan Gregory received 66, and three ballots were declared invalid.
Metropolitan Daniel's Opinion on the OCU and the Actions of Patriarch Bartholomew
Naturally, we, the Orthodox Christians of Ukraine, are most interested in Metropolitan Daniel's opinion on the events taking place in our country. His position is clear and understandable.
For example, he has repeatedly stated that Patriarch Bartholomew granted the Tomos to Ukrainian schismatics without their repentance, uniting them into the OCU and recognizing this formation as the canonical Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
In one of his recent interviews, he directly accused Patriarch Bartholomew of intensifying the persecution against the UOC: "Patriarch Bartholomew claimed that the Tomos was supposed to bring peace to the Church, uniting millions of Orthodox Christians, but instead, a war began, and the people whom the Patriarch declared canonical are persecuting the canonical Church, seizing churches, beating priests, and killing."
He also believes that granting the Tomos to "non-repentant schismatic groups with problematic clergy" is unacceptable.
And we can be sure that even in the position of Patriarch of Bulgaria, he will continue to defend his stance because, in his words, "the conscience of an Orthodox bishop obliges him to express his opinion on important issues concerning the fate of the Orthodox Church".
So, in this sense, Metropolitan Daniel's victory is our victory. We can be confident that he will never, under any circumstances, recognise the OCU, and there will be no visits or negotiations with Dumenko. Moreover, we hope that Patriarch Daniel will become one of the leaders of the Orthodox Church who will initiate a Pan-Orthodox Council on the "Ukrainian issue". At the very least, we should pray for this.
But there is one "but".
Possible Reaction of the Phanar
But can we assume that the Phanar, in the event of the victory of an "undesirable" candidate, has a "Plan B" in reserve? Or can we assume that Metropolitan Daniel's victory and his tenure as Patriarch of Bulgaria will go off "without a hitch"? Unlikely.
Let's remember that several metropolitans of the Bulgarian Church went to the Phanar, where they participated in a joint service with Zorшa and Lotysh. By not coordinating their actions with the Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church (BOC), they essentially challenged the entire Church, clearly showing their sympathies.
Shortly before this, Metropolitan Nicholas of Plovdiv withdrew his candidacy for the Patriarchal elections and then stated that no one can even imagine who will occupy the position of the head of the BOC. These words were perceived in Bulgaria as a threat: "You don't want me, then see who I'll give you."
Furthermore, Bulgarian politician Kostadin Kostadinov called on the country's president to convene a Security Council meeting due to what he believed was U.S. interference in the election of the new Patriarch of Bulgaria. Kostadinov also stated that the Bulgarian Church is on the brink of a schism similar to the one that shook the country in the 1990s. Two weeks ago, we couldn't understand what schism he was talking about.
But today, still in the process of elections, it became clear that the situation in the BOC is indeed very complicated, because the Church has essentially split into two halves – Patriarch Daniel won by a margin of only three votes. You can see that 69 and 66 votes is a very close and difficult result, indicating a roughly equal balance of power within the Bulgarian Church.
To this group of facts, add another: immediately after Patriarch Daniel's victory, some Bulgarian clerics (notably the very well-known in Bulgaria Archimandrite Nikanor) declared that their Patriarch is Bartholomew. This means they actually announced their desire to come under the omophorion of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
If we put all these facts together, it might look like this:
- Metropolitan Nicholas of Plovdiv goes to the Phanar and agrees that if the "wrong" person wins the election, "Plan B" – the schism of the Bulgarian Church – will be activated.
- If the Patriarch is someone without half-tones, whose position is clearly known, and whose will is unyielding, who fully satisfies some (anti-Phanariots) and completely dissatisfies others (Phanariots), a campaign to discredit the election results is launched.
- Simultaneously, first clerics and then some hierarchs declare their desire to join the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople.
- The Bulgarian Church is split, and a Phanar exarchate appears on its territory.
Obviously, this is just a hypothesis, but if we recall everything that has happened in Bulgaria over the past month, it doesn't seem too far-fetched.
For example, we can recall statements by some politicians that there is a "Phanar lovers" party within the BOC, whose representatives are "janissaries in cassocks". It is also said in Bulgaria that these hierarchs challenge the autocephaly of the Bulgarian Church, considering the separation of the BOC from the Ecumenical Patriarchate illegitimate.
Therefore, even if our version seems unrealistic, concluding that Patriarch Daniel's victory is a 100% failure of the Phanar's policy is also premature. We shall see.
In any case, Patriarch Daniel will have to deal with a divided Church, where part of the hierarchs favours the Church structure proposed by the Ecumenical Patriarchate, while another part leans towards a more traditional canonical and ecclesiological order.
He will have to find common ground with those hierarchs who have already shown their attitude towards the Church's canons by serving with Ukrainian schismatics, as well as with those who want to build closer relations with the Russian Orthodox Church.
In short, Patriarch Daniel will not have an easy time. Therefore, he really needs our prayers. May God help him!
