site.btaHoly Synod Convenes Local Council on Election of New Bulgarian Patriarch on June 30

The Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church decided Tuesday to convene a Local Council on the election of a new Bulgarian Patriarch on June 30, 2024, the Bulgarian Patriarchate said on its website.

According to the press release, a circular letter will be sent to the diocesan metropolitans “to prepare and hold elections of delegates to the Local Council on June 2, 2024”.

On June 20, a special meeting of the Holy Synod will be held according to Article 45 (1) of the Statutes of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church at which those diocesan metropolitans are to be elected who are candidates for the position of Patriarch and are eligible according to Article 40 of the Statutes od the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, the Holy Synod also decided.

According to the Statutes of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, candidates for patriarch must be 50 years of age or older and have been at the head of a diocese for at least five years. Nine of the current 13 metropolitans of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church meet these requirements, including Metropolitan Nicholas of Plovdiv.