THE new bill on religions, which is up for approval by Parliament, has provoked angry reactions within the alternative synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church (BOC).
According to the new bill, the Holy Synod, led by Patriarch Maxim, will automatically be registered with the Commission on Faiths and Religions. This registration would outlaw the alternative synod, which does not recognise the authority of Patriarch Maxim.
At a news conference last week, Sofia Metropolitan Bishop Innocent of the alternative synod said that his synod had filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg against the refusal of three consecutive governments, those of Zhan Videnov, Ivan Kostov and Simeon Saxe-Coburg, to acknowledge the synod.
Innocent said that if Parliament approved the new bill on religions in its current form, he would file a complaint with the Constitutional Court, because he believed the bill to be unconstitutional.
"We could also file a second complaint with the court in Strasbourg if the judiciary in Bulgaria does not help us against this draft bill," Innocent said.
It also emerged this week that the alternative synod is to call for a church council in the St Sofia church in Sofia to discuss the measures the synod will undertake to protect its property.
According to Father Kamen Barakov, there are about two million Bulgarians who go to church in the churches of the alternative synod.
"If the new bill on religions is passed, those people will suddenly turn out to be atheists," Barakov said.
He also threatened civil disobedience by priests in the churches around Christmas if the new bill was approved.
"We will go on an all out war and will not obey the law."
Barakov advised the police to stay out of the matter and not to co-operate with the official synod.
The alternative synod representatives said they would ask for the summoning of a church-people's council to elect a legitimate patriarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
In an interview with Bulgarian National Radio, Professor Cole Durham, co-chairperson of the committee on religious rights of the Organisation of Security and Co-operation in Europe, said that the new bill on religions created a number of problems regarding human rights.
According to Durham, this was a sensitive matter and should not be approved by Parliament hastily.
There were several very serious problems, in Durham's opinion.
The most important one was that the arguments within the Bulgarian Orthodox Church were tackled through the law.
He said this was not compatible with the most recent decisions of the European Court on Human Rights and could pose problems with the EU.
According to Durham, part of the bill infringed the Convention of Children's Rights.
Another problem was the part dealing with the confidentiality of confession, which contradicted the specifics of certain religions.
If the bill was approved without being co-ordinated with the Council of Europe, according to Durham, this would pose serious problems.
"I fear that the reluctance of the authors of the law to co-ordinate it with the EU, demonstrates fear that it is incompatible with European standards," Durham said.
"I think that the people should know that there are many things in this bill that are not corresponding to international standards."
Durham's prognosis was that even if the bill was approved in its current form, it would have to be amended in the near future before Bulgaria joined the EU.
"It is interesting that at the same time when the MPs were discussing important decisions on the EU accession, they are also trying to pass a bill, which is in reality in contradiction with the prerequisites for the accession," he said.
According to the new bill, the Holy Synod, led by Patriarch Maxim, will automatically be registered with the Commission on Faiths and Religions. This registration would outlaw the alternative synod, which does not recognise the authority of Patriarch Maxim.
At a news conference last week, Sofia Metropolitan Bishop Innocent of the alternative synod said that his synod had filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg against the refusal of three consecutive governments, those of Zhan Videnov, Ivan Kostov and Simeon Saxe-Coburg, to acknowledge the synod.
Innocent said that if Parliament approved the new bill on religions in its current form, he would file a complaint with the Constitutional Court, because he believed the bill to be unconstitutional.
"We could also file a second complaint with the court in Strasbourg if the judiciary in Bulgaria does not help us against this draft bill," Innocent said.
It also emerged this week that the alternative synod is to call for a church council in the St Sofia church in Sofia to discuss the measures the synod will undertake to protect its property.
According to Father Kamen Barakov, there are about two million Bulgarians who go to church in the churches of the alternative synod.
"If the new bill on religions is passed, those people will suddenly turn out to be atheists," Barakov said.
He also threatened civil disobedience by priests in the churches around Christmas if the new bill was approved.
"We will go on an all out war and will not obey the law."
Barakov advised the police to stay out of the matter and not to co-operate with the official synod.
The alternative synod representatives said they would ask for the summoning of a church-people's council to elect a legitimate patriarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
In an interview with Bulgarian National Radio, Professor Cole Durham, co-chairperson of the committee on religious rights of the Organisation of Security and Co-operation in Europe, said that the new bill on religions created a number of problems regarding human rights.
According to Durham, this was a sensitive matter and should not be approved by Parliament hastily.
There were several very serious problems, in Durham's opinion.
The most important one was that the arguments within the Bulgarian Orthodox Church were tackled through the law.
He said this was not compatible with the most recent decisions of the European Court on Human Rights and could pose problems with the EU.
According to Durham, part of the bill infringed the Convention of Children's Rights.
Another problem was the part dealing with the confidentiality of confession, which contradicted the specifics of certain religions.
If the bill was approved without being co-ordinated with the Council of Europe, according to Durham, this would pose serious problems.
"I fear that the reluctance of the authors of the law to co-ordinate it with the EU, demonstrates fear that it is incompatible with European standards," Durham said.
"I think that the people should know that there are many things in this bill that are not corresponding to international standards."
Durham's prognosis was that even if the bill was approved in its current form, it would have to be amended in the near future before Bulgaria joined the EU.
"It is interesting that at the same time when the MPs were discussing important decisions on the EU accession, they are also trying to pass a bill, which is in reality in contradiction with the prerequisites for the accession," he said.
