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Bishop Tikhon: The case surrounding the Bulgarian Old-Style Church is a storm in a teacup

The fact that the Metropolitan of the Old-Style Church is Bulgarian does not make it Bulgarian, the clergyman said

Jan 12, 2025 19:25 57

Bishop Tikhon: The case surrounding the Bulgarian Old-Style Church is a storm in a teacup  - 1

„The case surrounding the Bulgarian Old-Style Church is a storm in a teacup. It is an oversight of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church that those who were supposed to be involved in monitoring such legal processes did not pay attention earlier. Once there was already a court decision, everyone rushed to help”.

This was commented on by Bishop Tikhon of Tiberiopolis to NOVA.

The National Assembly adopted on first reading in the plenary hall the three bills for amendments to the Law on Religious Denominations, which limit the Bulgarian Orthodox Old-Style Church recognized by the court and declare the Bulgarian Orthodox Church (BOC) the only one to represent Orthodoxy in Bulgaria. The changes were made after the Supreme Court of Cassation's decision of December 16, which entered the Bulgarian Orthodox Old Style Church into the register of religious denominations.

“In his interview with NOVA NEWS, Metropolitan Photius very skillfully dodged between the essential issues. I don't see what is Bulgarian about the whole thing. The fact that the Metropolitan of the Old Style Church is Bulgarian does not make it Bulgarian. They wanted to be registered in order to receive the privileges that religious communities receive. But the fact that they do not accept us as a church is kept secret. They do not recognize our sacraments,” he added.

According to Bishop Tikhon, everyone has an interest in “shaking” the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. “It has no social and moral political influence on the people, on the younger generation. Our voice is almost not heard”, he believes.

According to Bishop Tikhon, the Old Style Church began as Russian. “The clergy of the Old Style Church wear Russian hats, their staffs are Russian”, he added.