"A Small Minority": Patriarch Bartholomew Comments on Protests Against His Visit to Bulgaria

Patriarch Bartholomew, the head of the Orthodox Church of Constantinople, responded to public discontent over his visit to Bulgaria by describing those opposed to the visit as a radical minority. The in Bulgaria provides a detailed account of the patriarch’s position.

In an interview recorded on the eve of his trip, Patriarch Bartholomew called the activists who were collecting signatures against his arrival “zealots” and “extremists,” whose zeal, he said, is “irrational.” The head of the Phanar emphasized that these actions would not prevent his visit, since he is traveling at the official invitation of Patriarch Daniel of Bulgaria and the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.

Patriarch Bartholomew stated that he considers the dissidents to be merely a “small minority” and a “drop” in the ocean of the Bulgarian people, who, he claimed, generally hold the Patriarchate of Constantinople in high regard, referring to the Bulgarian Church as its “firstborn daughter.” At the same time, the hierarch called on his opponents to “return to the right path” and avoid creating schisms within the Church.

It should be noted that the head of the Phanar’s visit to Bulgaria has been accompanied by significant tension. According to reports, protesters previously greeted the patriarch at the Synodal Palace in Sofia with shouts of “Anaksios” (unworthy), and during the divine service at the Rila Monastery, when the patriarch commemorated the head of the OCU, Epiphany Dumenko, the responded with shouts of “Anathema.”