Bishop of the Bulgarian Church: True restoration of fellowship with the RCC is impossible without its repentance

Bishop John of Branitz, First Vicar of the Metropolis of Sofia of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, made a resonant statement emphasizing that true restoration of communion with the Roman Catholic Church (RCC) is impossible without its repentance. Vladyka John emphasized that the modern doctrine of ecumenism, which bypasses the need for repentance, was denounced back in the XX century by St. Seraphim Sobolev and is in fact a way of misleading the faithful. This was reported by the Telegram-channel “Pravblog”.

Bishop John noted that in the past century a new doctrine has emerged – ecumenism, which offers reunion in the One Holy Church not through repentance, but through mechanical unity, prayerful communion, accommodation and imitation of love. This path, he said, was firmly rejected by St. Seraphim Sobolev as futile and deceiving people who can return to the Orthodox Church solely through true repentance.

The Bishop also cited the words of Archimandrite Methodius Zherev, who, in one of his books dedicated to the twelve apostles, compares the arrogance of the Apostle Peter, who believed that he would not deny Christ, to the Roman Catholic Church, which imagines itself to be the possessor of truth. Vladyka John emphasized: just as Apostle Peter, having repented, returned to the bosom of Christ, so the RCC should come to Orthodoxy through repentance, not through claims. Special attention was paid to criticizing the doctrine of papal supremacy, according to which the Roman bishop allegedly has special prerogatives and is above all other bishops. This doctrine, according to Vladyka John, is deeply erroneous and contradicts the principle of sobornost and the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ gave equal honor, dignity and power to all His Apostles.

St. Seraphim Sobolev, as the bishop noted, denounced this “evil” that has been spreading for a hundred years and has seduced even Orthodox believers. It was noted with regret that recently, against the background of prayerful communication between Orthodox clergy and representatives of the Catholic Church, the path of repentance is once again being relegated to the background. Vladyka John emphasized that the Orthodox Church can and should certainly dialog with non-Orthodox, present its teaching and witness to the truth, but there is no reason to enter into Eucharistic or prayerful commun ion with clergy of other Christian denominations, and to adapt its life and festive traditions to them.

In conclusion, Bishop John of Branick called on the faithful to keep the Orthodox faith sacred and always remember the writings, words and teachings of St. Seraphim Sobolev as a fundamental guide in today’s spiritual world.

Recall, earlier we reported that the hierarch of the Hellenic Orthodox Church Metropolitan Seraphim of Kythira and Antikyphyria criticized the joint celebrations with Roman Catholics of the 1700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council, held in Turkey in late November 2025 under the auspices of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The Hierarch noted that only one – except Patriarch Bartholomew – of the Primates of the Local Orthodox Churches was present at the celebration precisely because Pope Leo XIV took part in the event. In addition, Metropolitan Seraphim stated that it was inappropriate to sign a declaration of cooperation between the Patriarch of Constantinople and the Pope because of the significant contradictions in Orthodox and Catholic theology.