"Bulgaria Registers Second Official Orthodox Church: ‘Bulgarian Old Rite Church’ Added to Registry After 12-Year Legal Battle
In a landmark decision, Bulgaria’s Supreme Cassation Court has definitively ruled to include the Bulgarian Old Rite Orthodox Church in the country’s registry of religions, effectively overturning earlier contradictory decisions by the Sofia City Court and Sofia Appellate Court, a case dating back to 2009.
This move signifies the first time a second Orthodox Church has been officially registered in Bulgaria, as reported by bTV.
The Supreme Court magistrates stated that there are no compelling grounds to suggest that registering the Old Rite Church would infringe upon the rights of the "Bulgarian Orthodox Church – Bulgarian Patriarchate" and its members.
The decision underscores the historical significance of the Bulgarian Patriarchate, acknowledging its pivotal role in strengthening Bulgarian nationalism and statehood, and its continued unity and authority among the majority of Bulgarian Orthodox Christians. Conversely, the registration seeks to accommodate a smaller religious community established in 1990, which celebrates according to the Julian calendar and has no claims to the internal structure and property of the Bulgarian Patriarchate.
"With this registration, all administrative and legal barriers that previously hindered or prevented us from functioning have been removed," reads a statement on the Old Rite Church’s official website. Led by the Metropolitan of Tryavna, Foti, and with the S MX
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