Sofia, June 29, 2026
Photo: nova.bg
His Holiness Patriarch Daniil of Bulgaria and the Bulgarian Holy Synod have both considered the question of proposed European Union sanctions against His Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia, following Prime Minister Rumen Radev’s announcement that Bulgaria intends to block any such measure.
Pat. Daniil, speaking to the Bulgarian news agency BGNES, said he considered Bulgaria’s opposition to the sanctions to be the correct course.
“This is definitely a bold step, and we don’t think that sanctions against the head of a Local Orthodox Church achieve the interest and effect that those imposing the sanction have in mind. I think it’s the right decision,” he said.
Meanwhile, at its regular session later June 26, the Holy Synod ruled that the matter of potential new EU sanctions against Russia—including the proposed designation of Pat. Kirill—falls outside its competence, and declined to issue a formal position.
PM Radev announced Bulgaria’s intention to veto the Pat. Kirill sanctions on June 18 in Brussels, ahead of a European Council meeting. He argued that sanctioning a spiritual leader would deepen divisions rather than contribute to peace efforts, and drew a distinction between Pat. Kirill as an individual and the Russian Orthodox Church as an institution.
“I’m not interested in Patriarch Kirill. I’m interested in the Russian Orthodox Church, because Russian Orthodoxy contributed to our liberation from five centuries of Ottoman rule,” Radev said at the time. He added that if Pat. Kirill were to appear on the sanctions list, Bulgaria would seek his removal from it.
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