Orthodox Church of Bulgaria elects new Patriarch
July 02, 2024
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CWN Editor's Note: The ecclesial electoral council of the Orthodox Church of Bulgaria (CNEWA profile) has elected Metropolitan Bishop Daniil of Vidin as the church’s new Patriarch. He succeeds Patriarch Neophyte, who died in March.
After the June 30 enthronement ceremony, Daniil, 52, said that “in the modern world in which we live, we witness how the rebellion of many people against God leads to the legalization and imposition of sin as a norm in human society.” He earlier sided with the Russian Orthodox Church in its opposition to the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople’s 2019 decision to grant recognition to the Orthodox Church of Ukraine.
The ecclesial electoral council, composed of 140 clergy and lay delegates, chose Daniil from three candidates proposed by the church’s 14 metropolitan bishops. When no candidate received two-thirds of the votes in the first round, a runoff vote was held in the second round, in which Daniil defeated Metropolitan Gregory of Vratsa, the church’s temporary head, in a 69-66 vote.
The Vatican delegation at the enthronement ceremony included the prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Christian Unity, the apostolic nuncio, and an official of the Secretariat of State. Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, who holds a primacy of honor among the Orthodox churches, was also present.
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