The Bulgarian Orthodox Church: Authoring New Visions About the Orthodox Church’s Role in Contemporary Bulgarian Society

Abstract

This chapter examines the visions which have been advanced by the Bulgarian Orthodox Church to expand and secure its influence in society after fall of communism. While the end of the atheist rule inspired the Church’s hierarchy to seek a restoration of the pre-communist dominant status of Orthodoxy as the majority religion, the newly adopted understanding of freedom of conscience and belief as a just and equal treatment of all religious communities impeded the realization of this goal. As a result, the promotion of the Church’s positions on the communist past, the form of political governance, nationalism, and traditional values have turned out to be a dynamic process that provokes ambivalent reactions not only in society but also in the community of Orthodox believers.