SGP filed private appeal against the refusal of the Sofia City Court to terminate the registration of the Bulgarian Old Calendar Church

 

Translated from Bulgarian 

The Sofia City Prosecution filed a private appeal against the refusal of the Sofia City Court to terminate the registration of the Bulgarian Old Calendar Church.

07/24/25, 5:21 p.m. Ни

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The Sofia City Prosecutor's Office (SGP) filed a private appeal against the Sofia City Court's refusal to terminate the registration of the "Bulgarian Orthodox Old Calendar Church" (BPSC / BOCOC).

It states that the court incorrectly excluded the application of the provisions of the Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Law on Religions (in force from 04.02.2025) by holding that they violate the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (CCHR) and affect the rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria - (the right) to free association and freedom of religion.

The Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Law on Religious Denominations imposes obligations on all religious denominations in Bulgaria to apply for entry in the register of a change in their name if it contains the word "Orthodox" or derived and similar words, since according to Art. 10, para. 1 of the law, the traditional religious denomination in the Republic of Bulgaria is Eastern Orthodoxy.

The Council of Ministers has expressed a negative opinion regarding the registration of the Bulgarian Orthodox Old Calendar Church

The Bulgarian Old Calendar Orthodox Church (BOCOC) has not fulfilled this requirement within the statutory deadline and has not brought its statutes into line with the statutory requirements. Therefore, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the Religious Denominations Directorate at the Council of Ministers have filed applications to terminate the registration of the BOCOC and to initiate proceedings for its liquidation.

The appeal against the court's refusal to grant these requests sets out arguments that substantiate the city court's reasoning in the part in which it accepted that the amendments to the Law on Religions deviate from the Constitution of the Republic of Bulgaria. "If the court considered that certain provisions of the Law on Religions were unconstitutional, then it should have referred the matter to the Constitutional Court," is the opinion of the prosecutor's office.

It is also emphasized that the discretion of each state to regulate public relations regarding the status and registration of religious communities in a manner that ensures and guarantees a balance between the national interest and the interests of each interested party is a fundamental principle enshrined in the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association, including the right to join trade unions, but in individual cases these may be restricted by domestic legislation in order to protect public security, morality, rights and freedoms of citizens, states the private appeal. It was filed with the Sofia Court of Appeal with a request to overturn the decision of the Sofia City Court of Appeal and to respect the requests of the Directorate of Religious Denominations under the Council of Ministers and the SGP