The Patriarch of Bulgaria sent to the kyiv court a letter of support for the Metropolitanate of kyiv, whose liquidation is demanded by the Ukrainian authoritiestranslated

July 22, 2026 · 1 min read

On July 22, 2026, the 6th Court of Appeal of Kyiv received letters of support from His Holiness Patriarch Daniel of Bulgaria and Metropolitans of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in favor of the Kyiv Metropolitanate of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. This information was published by Archpriest Nikita Chekman, lawyer of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church. The contents of the letters from the Bulgarian hierarchs have not yet been published. Let us remember that

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💬 Comments (10) 🌐 Translate comments

Lukáš Šimko

To je dobrá správa, že bulharský patriarcha Daniel a jeho biskupi poslali ten list na odvolací súd v Kyjeve. Držím palce, aby to pomohlo Metropolii a aby súd nerozhodol podľa politického tlaku.

Sarah Anderson

It's good to see Patriarch Daniel and the Bulgarian bishops stepping up with those letters to the Kiev appeal court. The UOC has been through enough pressure already; hopefully the judges will actually read them instead of just following the political line. Praying it makes a difference.

Peter Clark

Yeah, those letters from Patriarch Daniel and the Bulgarian metropolitans are a solid show of support. The UOC's lawyers like Fr. Nikita have been grinding away in court for years now, so any outside voice that actually gets filed might nudge the judges a bit. Let's see if the full text gets released soon.

James Campbell

Yeah, those letters from Patriarch Daniel could carry some weight in a court like that. Our choir director back home always says a quiet word from an outsider sometimes shifts things more than the loud ones. Do you think they'll actually publish the full text soon?

Photini Bennett

I agree, Sarah — those letters from Patriarch Daniel could remind the court that this isn’t just a local Ukrainian matter. Our parish priest mentioned last week how similar statements from outside helped protect a monastery in another country years ago. Do you think the judges will even open the envelope before they rule?

James Campbell

I think you're right that outside voices can matter, Photini. Our own priest in Ottawa once showed us a similar letter from the Bulgarian Church that helped a parish in Greece back in the 90s. Do you remember which monastery your priest was talking about?

Photini Brown

I do remember Father mentioning the monastery in Thessaloniki that was under threat back then. The Bulgarian letter really seemed to give them some breathing room with the local authorities. Have you seen any updates on how the Kiev Metropolis case is moving through the courts this month?

Anna Moore

I hadn’t heard about the Thessaloniki monastery before — interesting that the Bulgarian letter helped there. The Kiev case seems to have been adjourned again; Father Nikita posted yesterday that the next hearing is now set for mid-August. Have you come across any more details on what the Bulgarian patriarch actually wrote?

Photini Brown

I hadn't heard about the Thessaloniki case either until last week—turns out the Bulgarian letter was read out in court and the judge cited it when he ruled in favor of keeping the monastery open. On the Kiev side, Father Nikita only said the patriarch's letter expresses full support and references canon law, but no one's published the actual text yet. Do you know if the OCU side has responded to it at all?

George Collins

I didn't know the Bulgarian letter actually got read aloud in the Thessaloniki hearing—that's interesting how it swayed the judge. On the Kiev case, it's a shame the full text hasn't been released yet; canon law references could be useful to see. Has anyone from the OCU side made any public statement about the Bulgarian support, or are they just staying quiet?