Divine Diplo #6: Orthodox Divisions Exposed in Sofia, Romanian Church's Ukrainian Move, Pope's Commentary Backfires
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The funeral of the late Bulgarian Patriarch exposes divisions in Orthodoxy
Romanian church establishes a new branch in Ukraine
Pope’s “white flag” commentary backfires
The funeral of the late Bulgarian Patriarch exposes divisions in Orthodoxy
The leader of the Bulgarian Orthodox Patriarch Neophyte died in a hospital in the capital, Sofia, on Wednesday (13 March). His health has deteriorated for several months, and he was hospitalised in November 2023. Neophyte headed the Bulgarian church for eleven years. He was elected as Patriarch in February 2013.
The funeral took place on Saturday (16 March) at the main cathedral in Sofia, Alexander Nevsky. Delegations of other local churches were present. The question surrounding the invitation of Russian Patriarch Kirill caused reactions in Bulgaria. While the information on the Neophyte’s death was shared with all local churches, the formal invitation for the funeral was not extended to Kirill. Russian Ambassador Mitrofanova confirmed this.
Another issue that caused a reaction was the arrival of the Ukrainian church delegation headed by Met. Epifaniy of the OCU. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church has not recognised the OCU’s independence, and his presence was questioned by the Russian Ambassador to Bulgaria and some members of the Bulgarian Holy Synod, according to the Sofia Globe. Mitrofanova characterised the presence of Met. Epifaniy as a big provocation by the Fanar of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. According to Met. Epifaniy he arrived in Sofia upon an invitation from the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. Met. Yevstratiy (Zorya) accompanied him. Metropolitan Nestor of Korsun and Western Europe represented the Russian Orthodox Church.
The relationship between the ROC and the BOC hit a new low last year when the BOC expelled the Russian Archimandrite Vassian (Zmeyev) and several other priests from Bulgaria because of espionage concerns.
The Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew led the funeral service. According to the BOC, a new Patriarch should be elected on 30 June. Only nine Holy Synod representatives qualify for this role. Met. Naum of Ruse immediately withdrew his name from the runing, leaving it at eight. The election of the new Primate requires candidates to be over fifty years old and to have held the title of Metropolitan for at least five years.
OrthodoxTimes reported on the names of the eight eligible candidates:
Metropolitan Josef of USA, Canada, and Australia
Metropolitan Gregory of Veliko Tarnovo
Metropolitan Ignatius of Pleven
Metropolitan Gabriel of Lovech
Metropolitan Naum of Rousse (Cherven)
Metropolitan John of Varna and Veliki Preslav
Metropolitan Gregory of Vratsa
Metropolitan Daniel of Vidin
Romanian church establishes a new church branch in Ukraine
At the end of February, the Romanian Orthodox Church greenlighted the establishment of a new church structure – “Romanian Orthodox Church in Ukraine”, which angered the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, calling it a provocation of Ukraine and its church. Reactions from the UOC-MP, as well as the Russian Orthodox Church, followed.
The Holy Synod of the Romanian Orthodox Church decided to “bless, encourage and support the initiatives of the Romanian Orthodox communities in Ukraine to re-establish communion with the Mother Church – the Romanian Patriarchate – through their legal organization, in a religious structure called the Romanian Orthodox Church in Romania”.
This practice of interfering with different church jurisdictions was immediately opposed by the Orthodox Church of Ukraine, which, according to its Tomos of autocephaly issued by the Ecumenical Patriarch in 2019, is the sole church structure on the territory of Ukraine that can claim canonical jurisdiction.
In response to the developments, the OCU's Holy Synod decided to send letters to the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Patriarch of the Romanian Orthodox Church, Daniel, regarding this development. The situation is complicated given the Romanian Orthodox Church's lack of recognition of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. Similarly, the UOC-MP also issued a statement condemning the decision of the Romanian church, hoping it would be reversed, with assurances that Romanian-speaking believers are welcomed in the UOC-MP parishes.
The news about establishing the new Romanian church structure affects the two biggest churches differently. The main effects would be felt by the UOC-MP, which has the highest number of Romanian-speaking believers in and around Chernivtsi, Zakarpattia, and Odessa. On the other hand, for the OCU, this represents a surprising act by the Romanian church because it undermines the Tomos it has received from the Ecumenical Patriarch.
Pope’s “white flag” commentary backfires
Pope Francis gave an interview for the Swiss RSI broadcaster (9 March) in which he suggested that Ukraine should have the courage to wave the “white flag” and negotiate with Russia. These remarks quickly backfired, angering Ukrainians and raising eyebrows among Europe’s top politicians.
Commenting on the ongoing fighting in Ukraine, he said: “I think that the strongest one is the one who looks at the situation, thinks about the people and has the courage of the white flag, and negotiates," He then added: "The word negotiate is a courageous word. When you see that you are defeated, that things are not going well, you have to have the courage to negotiate."
For full transparency the Pope used the word “white-flag” after the interviewer used it. However this has not stopped an avalanche of reactions coming from different sides against Pope’s remarks that implied Ukraine’s surrender. The Vatican swiftly issued a clarification according to which the use of the term white-flag was meant “ceasefire and to relaunch the courage of negotiation.”
Ukriaine’s Foreign Minister Kuleba urged the Pope to visit Ukraine, which he keeps rejecting. He then said: “[o]ur flag is blue and yellow. Under it, we live, die, and triumph. We will not raise any other flags.”
The leader of Ukraine’s Greek Catholics, Major Archbishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk’s initial reaction was that no one in Ukraine thinks of surrender.
Russia, on the other hand, quickly used the Pope's unfortunate commentary to score political points. Putin’s spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, characterised the Pope’s comments as understandable and underlined that Russia was open to peace talks.
The Vatican has a complicated track record when it comes to the Russian aggression in Ukraine, with ambiguous statements that make observers wonder about the lack of understanding by the Vatican of the gravity of the situation in Ukraine and the political ramifications of the war.
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Andreja Bogdanovski
For a more extended analysis, check out last week’s main piece about the attitude of the Macedonian Orthodox Church (Ohrid Archbishopric) towards Ukraine’s autocephaly.
