Sofia, August 3, 2026
Photo: iapn.kz
The Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church has issued a statement condemning public defamatory statements by Archimandrite Nicanor, a Sofia Diocese clergyman currently under canonical suspension, directed against the Church and against His Holiness Patriarch Daniil personally.
The Synod says the archimandrite’s systematic insults and slander, in which he casts himself as judge of all things and all people, are impermissible and have caused scandal among the faithful. The Synod members reject any use of the Church for political ends, and reject the clergyman presenting himself as a political victim.
The statement affirms that any attack on the Church’s unity, or incitement to schism, is strictly condemned under the Church’s statutes and the sacred canons, while the Church prays instead for the repentance and reconciliation of all its children.
The Synod calls on clergy and faithful not to yield to provocations that sow enmity and division, urging sobriety and intensified prayer during the coming Dormition Fast for mercy on all people, the Bulgarian nation, and a world burdened by conflict and suffering.
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The full Synodal statement:
POSITION of the Holy Synod regarding the insulting statements and defamatory claims of Archimandrite Nicanor Mishkov concerning the Bulgarian patriarch and the BOC–BP
The Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church–Bulgarian Patriarchate categorically distances itself from and condemns the publicly stated defamatory claims of Archimandrite Nicanor Mishkov, a clergyman of the Sofia Diocese currently under canonical suspension (“argos”), directed against the BOC–BP and against the institution and person of the Bulgarian Patriarch. We declare that the aforementioned clergyman’s systematic insulting and slanderous statements, in which he presents himself as judge of all things and all people, are impermissible and provoke general scandal among the faithful.
We, the members of the Holy Synod, do not accept that the holy Church be instrumentalized and used for political purposes, nor that the clergyman in question present himself as a political victim.
We declare that any attack on the unity of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church–Bulgarian Patriarchate, or incitement to schism, is impermissible and strictly condemned according to the statutes of the BOC–BP and the sacred canons. On the contrary, the holy Church prays for the repentance, reconciliation, and unity of all her children in the one body of Christ.
We call on the clergy and the Orthodox people not to yield to provocations that breed enmity and division. In the coming days of the Dormition Fast, let us show sobriety and intensify our prayers to God and to the Mother of God for mercy and gracious help for all of us, for our entire nation, and for a world burdened by numerous conflicts, wars, and suffering, for peace, repentance, and salvation.
We offer prayers to Christ, the Lover of Mankind, that He allow not one sheep of His holy flock to be seized by the enemy of salvation, but that it may find the path of repentance.
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