Ecumenical Patriarch honors Bulgarian politician for supporting Phanar
Boyko Borisov promised Patriarch Bartholomew that he would continue to support all Orthodox churches "to the best of his ability".
On June 30, 2024, Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew awarded former Bulgarian Prime Minister and leader of the GERB party, Boyko Borisov, the "Cross of the Blessed Virgin" (Greek: "Σταυρό της Παμμακαρίστου") for his support of Phanar.
The award ceremony took place during the patriarch's visit to Sofia, which was timed to coincide with the election and enthronement of the new Patriarch of Bulgaria, Daniel.
On Sunday morning (before the elections), Patriarch Bartholomew visited the parliament building, where he met with Speaker of Parliament Rania Nazarian and Boyko Borisov.
During the meeting, the patriarch emphasized the importance of supporting the Orthodox Church and noted Borisov's contribution to strengthening ties between Bulgaria and the Ecumenical Patriarchate.
In his speech at the award ceremony, Borisov expressed gratitude for the honor and reaffirmed the GERB party's commitment to supporting Orthodox churches.
"On behalf of our party, our assembly, and hundreds of thousands of GERB voters, we accept every gift from the church with humility, respect, and reverence. We believe that nothing can be done without God. We will continue to help all Orthodox churches to the best of our ability," Borisov stated.
Previously, it was reported that representatives of the Bulgarian political party "Revival" called on President Rumen Radev to convene a National Security Advisory Council on the issue of U.S. interference in the election of the Bulgarian Patriarch.
The party's statement mentioned that there are hierarchs in Bulgaria who can be considered "foreign agents of influence" (apparently referring to hierarchs who concelebrated with the OCU in Phanar), and that "the role of the U.S. in the process of subordinating (or 'taking control of') the Bulgarian Orthodox Church is obvious."
"It is evident that this is being carried out with the gracious assistance of the Ecumenical Patriarch and some Bulgarian metropolitans and hierarchs who violated the canon and concelebrated with schismatics in Turkey," the statement said.
