Bulgarian Orthodox Old-Style Church Erased by Sofia Court of Appeal

The Sofia Court of Appeal has initiated proceedings to liquidate and remove the Bulgarian Orthodox Old-Style Church from the register of religious denominations after a year of litigation. This decision follows the Sofia City Court’s prior refusal to terminate its registration and is based on recent changes to the Law on Religious Denominations, driven by the Bulgarian Orthodox Church to prevent potential schisms within the Orthodox community. These changes, supported by the government, the president, and parliamentary parties GERB, “Vazrazhdane,” and the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, stipulate that no religious denomination, other than the Bulgarian Orthodox Church – Bulgarian Patriarchate, can use the word “Orthodox” or its derivatives. Denominations were given two months to amend their names and statutes accordingly, which the Bulgarian Orthodox Old-Style Church failed to do. Consequently, the court approved the request from the Sofia City Prosecutor’s Office and the Directorate of Religious Denominations of the Council of Ministers to remove it from the register.

This legal issue started in December when the Supreme Court of Cassation allowed the Bulgarian Orthodox Old-Style Church’s registration based on a European Court of Human Rights ruling. A year later, Bulgarian law removed the Church, which consists of 18 locations and followers nationwide. The decision by the Sofia Court of Appeal is final and not subject to appeal.

In contrast, the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church, registered under that name and operating ten local branches, has not faced similar actions. On October 1, 2025, the central denomination in Sofia changed its name to “Armenian Apostolic Holy Church in Bulgaria,” with local branches making similar changes in the preceding month, such as the “Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church of Surp Agop in Yambol,” now registered as “Armenian Apostolic Holy Church of Surp Agop.”