Oreshak, Bulgaria, November 7, 2018
Photo: pravoslavie.ru Meeting at the Holy Dormition Troyan Monastery on Monday and yesterday, the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church discussed, among other things, the work thus far of the specially-created commission tasked with examining the ongoing crisis situation in Ukraine.
However, explaining that the commission has a lot of work to do and many documents to examine, the Synod announced that it will taking up the issue in a closer manner at its December session, reports TASS with reference to the Bulgarian Telegraph Agency.
OrthoChristian reported yesterday that it was likely the issue would be delayed until December.
“It’s a difficult decision that the Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church has to make. We will probably consider it at our session in December. Before that, our commission has to examine many documents and it will take a long time,” His Eminence Metropolitan Cyprian of Starozagorsk, the chairman of the Synod’s special commission, reported.
His Holiness Patriarch Neofit of Bulgaria also expressed his view, saying, “We will discuss these important questions when we are ready; then we will announce our decision. My opinion is the opinion of the Synod. I would very much like everything to end with peace and good will.”
His Eminence Metropolitan John of Varna and Veliki Preslav called the present situation in Orthodoxy “tragic.”
“My opinion is that this question is very complicated. There’s a deep division because of it and today the 300 million Orthodox Christians cannot serve together at one holy Liturgy with the Moscow and Constantinople Patriarchates. It’s a tragic moment,” he said.
Met. John was one of three Bulgarian metropolitans who called for a pan-Orthodox council at the Synod’s early October meeting. The three then released a statement condemning Constantinople’s unilateral interference in Ukraine and again making the call for a pan-Orthodox discussion of the matter.
The Synod as a whole did not resolve to make the call for a pan-Orthodox Council at its October session, though it did create the above-mentioned special commission to more closely examine the issue, whose work is ongoing.
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