The Bulgarian Orthodox Church has recognized the Macedonian Orthodox Church as the independent national church of North Macedonia, Bulgaria’s Holy Synod announced after a meeting in Sofia on Tuesday, transmits MIA.
The move comes despite ongoing political tensions between the two nations and sees Bulgaria’s Orthodox Church following decisions made by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople (Istanbul) and the Serbian Orthodox Church to recognize the church.
However, “the question of the name” of the Macedonian Orthodox Church still needed to be discussed, the Holy Synod said in a statement. EU member Bulgaria is currently using its veto to block North Macedonia’s EU membership bid, in a dispute centered largely on the rights of North Macedonia’s Bulgarian ethnic minority.
