Bishop of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church refused joint events with non-Orthodox in Istanbul

The visit of Bishop Isaac of Velbuzhd, Vicar of the Metropolis of Sofia of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, to Istanbul ended with a demonstrative refusal to participate in a number of festive events. The actions of the hierarch, aimed at preserving the canonical purity of Orthodoxy, provoked sharp criticism from the media loyal to the Patriarchate of Constantinople. This is reported by Pravblog.

Bishop Isaac arrived in Turkey in April 2026 to lead Holy Week services at the invitation of the local Bulgarian community. However, on Resurrection Day, the bishop left St. George’s Patriarchal Cathedral in Phanar, finding representatives of the Roman Catholic, Armenian and Syro-Jacovite churches invited to read the Gospel. Instead of participating in the ecumenical ceremony, the bishop read the Easter message of the Holy Synod of the BOC in front of his flock at the Bulgarian exarachate’s palace in the Shishli neighborhood.

Additional tension was caused by an incident during the service on Holy Thursday. The deacon accompanying the bishop mentioned not only Patriarch Bartholomew, but also Patriarch Daniel of Bulgaria, which the representatives of the Phanar considered a violation, referring to their jurisdiction over the Istanbul community. Pro-Fanar publications accused the Bulgarian delegation of «liturgical illiteracy» and provoking a scandal, calling for Bishop Isaac to be banned from further religious visits to Turkey.

Experts note that this incident occurred two months before Patriarch Daniel’s planned visit to the island of Imbros. There is an assumption that the resulting conflict may be used by the Greek side as an instrument of pressure on the Primate of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.