UOC hierarchs refuse to serve together in Bulgaria due to presence of hierarchs who concelebrated with OCU

Three hierarchs of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church (UOC) visited the Diocese of Lovechanka of the Bulgarian Patriarchate to participate in the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the election of Metropolitan Gabriel of Lovechanka to the see, but refused to participate in the joint service. The reason for this decision was the presence of the hierarchs of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church (BOC), who concelebrated with representatives of the OCU. This is reported by the Telegram channel «Pravblog» .

Among the representatives of the UOC who arrived in Bulgaria was Metropolitan Longin of Banchena. Their visit was timed to coincide with a significant date — the 25th anniversary of the election of Metropolitan Gabriel to the Lovchana See, who is a respected hierarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.

However, the hierarchs of the UOC did not participate in the joint service, due to the presence of Metropolitan Nikolai of Plovdiv, who had previously concelebrated with the hierarchs of the OCU, in addition to Patriarch Daniel of Romania. Thus, the bishops of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church continue to adhere to the decisions of the Holy Synod and Council of the UOC of 2022, which refers to the breakup of Eucharistic communion with a number of Local Churches and hierarchs who recognized the Ukrainian schism.

Earlier, the Primate of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church (BOC), Patriarch Daniel, spoke on a number of topical issues related to the unity of Orthodox and Catholics and relations with the Patriarchate of Constantinople. Patriarch Daniel paid special attention to the issue of recognizing the Ukrainian schism. The head of the BOC is convinced that the recognition of the OCU by the Patriarchate of Constantinople is not a reason to break relations with Phanar.