Bulgaria PM Stanishev Calls for Church Unity

"The Bulgarian Orthodox Church have been, and will be united, and will be governed by respected leaders", Bulgaria's PM, Sergey Stanishev, said Monday. Photo by BGNES

The Bulgarian government will do everything possible to help the Bulgarian Orthodox Church achieve unity.

That became clear Monday after a meeting between Bulgaria's PM Sergey Stanishev and Patriarch Maxim, BGNES reported.

"The Bulgarian Orthodox Church has been, and will be united, and will be governed by respected leaders. I am worried about the European Court of Human Rights' decision, because it is of a great importance. We have to find a way to protect Church's prestige, and bring it to unity. The Bulgarian Orthodox church is a vital part of the Bulgarian identity", Premier Stanishev said after the meeting.

The argument between the synod of Inokentii and the main Bulgarian Orthodox Church, led by Patriarch Maxim, ended up at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg in late January.

The court gave its backing to the Inokentii synod in their bid for independence and ruled that Bulgaria had violated the right to religious freedom and that the Bulgarian Government had intervened disproportionately by appointing patriarch Maxim as the ruler of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.

 

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