Legal dispute continues in Bulgaria over “Old Calendarist Church”

The Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office has appealed a court ruling that rejected its request to revoke the registration of the religious organization known as the “Bulgarian Old Calendarist Orthodox Church.” Prosecutors are seeking to strip the group of its legal status and initiate its dissolution. This was reported by the Pravblog channel.

The legal dispute stems from legislative amendments adopted earlier this year by the Bulgarian Parliament. According to the new regulations, only the Bulgarian Orthodox Church is permitted to use the term “Orthodox” in its official name. Other religious groups, including the Old Calendarists, were given a two-month deadline to bring their documents into compliance.

Prosecutors argue that the Old Calendarist Church failed to meet the requirement: its charter remains unchanged, and the prohibited word is still part of its official name. As a result, the oversight authorities are calling for the cancellation of the church’s registration as a violation of national law. The appeal is expected to be reviewed soon.

It should also be recalled that on June 11, the Sofia Metropolis of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church issued an official statement distancing itself from Archimandrite Nikanor (Mishkov), who had sent an open letter to Archbishop Stefan and the Holy Synod of the Macedonian Orthodox Church. In the letter, published on the Macedonian portal Tribuna, Archimandrite Nikanor urged the appointment of Bishop Parthenios to the vacant Debar-Kichevo diocese, describing him as “a Macedonian patriot with a crystal-clear national consciousness.”