The Holy Synod of the Russian Orthodox Church has made the decision to cut ties with specific hierarchs of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. This action comes in response to the recent joint liturgy of Bulgarian hierarchs with Ukrainian Metropolitans in Constantinople.
Metropolitan Anthony of Volokolamsk delivered a detailed report on this issue, highlighting the involvement of Bulgarian hierarchs in a co-liturgy with the Ecumenical Patriarch and Metropolitans of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine at the Patriarchal and Stavropegic Monastery of Valoukli. This event was first reported in an exclusive article by orthodoxtimes.com, underscoring the significance of the joint liturgy.
During today’s Holy Synod meeting, Metropolitan Anthony named the Bulgarian hierarchs who took part: Metropolitan Nicholai of Plovdiv, Metropolitan Kyprianos of Stara Zagora, Metropolitan Iakovos of Dorostol, Bishop Sionios of Veliko, and Bishop Vissarion of Smolian. These hierarchs participated in the Divine Liturgy alongside Metropolitan Evstratii of Bila Tserkva and Metropolitan Avraamiy of Boryspil from the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
The Russian Orthodox Church expressed deep regret over the joint liturgy, labeling it as a “serious setback” for the relationship between the Russian and Bulgarian Orthodox Churches. The Holy Synod announced its decision to “sever ties with the aforementioned Hierarchs, who have entered into communion with schismatics.”
In its statement, the Russian Church also criticized the Ecumenical Patriarchate, accusing it of “continuing actions that further divide Orthodoxy.”
Translated by: Konstantinos Menyktas