Sofia, December 18, 2024
Photo: dnes.dir.bg
The Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church is unanimously against the proposal to rename the square outside the St. Alexander Nevsky Cathedral in Sofia.
In September, three members of the Municipal Council of Sofia submitted a report calling for a new name. As the most representative public space of the capital city, it should be named in honor of St. John of Rila, the patron and most beloved saints of the Bulgarian people, the councilors argue.
Moreover, the great saint’s relics were kept in Sofia for a time, and processions in his honor began precisely from the area today known as St. Alexander Nevsky Square. Finally, the Sofia representatives note that St. Alexander, a 13th-century Russian saint, has no connection to Bulgaria.
The cathedral was consecrated in the name of St. Alexander Nevsky to honor the Russian soldiers who died during the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–1878 that resulted in Bulgaria’s liberation from Ottoman rule. The Bulgarian Church celebrated the 100th anniversary of the church’s consecration just last month.
In its statement adopted at its session on December 10, the Synod argues that the square is historically inseparable from both the nation’s history and the Bulgarian Orthodox Church’s activities over the past century. The hierarchs point to examples across the European Union where cathedral squares retain names connected to their churches, citing specific cases in Brussels, Rome, Venice, and Milan. The Synod emphasizes that in these cities, as in Sofia, squares were named after their cathedrals were built, reflecting the spiritual significance of the churches they accompany.
The Holy Synod, at its meeting on December 10, 2024, protocol No. 14, in full composition, unanimously declares its negative position regarding the renaming of the square in front of the St. Alexander Nevsky Patriarchal Cathedral.
The square in front of the cathedral is an inseparable part of our homeland’s history and is inextricably linked to all events connected with the Bulgarian Orthodox Church-Bulgarian Patriarchate over the last 100 years, which makes it not just a municipal square, but an invariable historical site directly connected to the St. Alexander Nevsky Patriarchal Cathedral.
The names of squares in capitals and major cities of European Union member states correspond with the names of cathedrals built by believing Christians over the centuries, and have invariably preserved their names to this day, regardless of political circumstances. We will mention just a few examples: the square in front of the St. Michael and St. Gudula Cathedral in Brussels bears the name of St. Gudula, St. Peter’s Square in Rome, St. Mark’s Square in Venice, Piazza del Duomo in Milan. Moreover, in many cities not only the squares but all surrounding streets bear the name of the cathedral, as is the case in Vienna, Copenhagen, Budapest, Munich, Thessaloniki, and Barcelona.
In all these cities, as well as in our beloved capital city Sofia, the squares were named after the church was built, because the square is significant not in itself, but due to the enormous spiritual significance of the church that rises above it.
Therefore, the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church-Bulgarian Patriarchate unanimously opposes the renaming of the square in front of the St. Alexander Nevsky Patriarchal Cathedral in the capital city of Sofia.
Photo: dnes.dir.bg
In an interview with bnr.bg published on December 13, His Holiness Patriarch Daniil expressed a stronger opinion, saying those who think of renaming the square “don’t know what they’re talking about.”
“I’m convinced this comes from non-Church circles,” the Bulgarian primate added.
The entire nation donated funds to build the cathedral, His Holiness said. It was constructed over the course of three decades (1881–1912), during times of political difficulties with varying societal moods.
“And I ask: ‘We, their descendants, do we honor the will and efforts of those who donated to this church? Do we even think about this? What kind of people are we? Shall we call ourselves rootless vagrants?!’”
Further, Pat. Daniil recalls that the cathedral itself was briefly renamed, due to political circumstances, in honor of Sts. Cyril and Methodius from 1916 to 1920, “but even then the people realized their mistake and restored the name of the church to the saint for whom the foundation stone was laid.”
Major events in 20th-century Bulgarian history, including the funeral of Tsar Boris III in 1943, and the restoration of the Patriarchate in 1953, took place at the cathedral, Pat. Daniil notes. “The entire nation would gather there for all occasions in our national life, whether to pray in sorrow, to give thanks to God, or to glorify Him. Throughout all this time, the church has served to bring people together, to support people in their needs. And I ask, who comes up with such thoughts now? How has the name of the church hindered it from fulfilling its function throughout all this time?”
In conclusion, the Bulgarian Patriarch explains that the motivation for renaming the square probably comes from the push to ban everything connected with Russia, but “Is this what the church is for?! Should the church be used for this,” he asks.
“Let it not be so!”
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