Patriarch Daniil of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church has suspended Archimandrite Nikanor (secular name Khristos Khristov Mishkov), abbot of the Monastery of the Holy Unmercenaries Cosmas and Damian (the Chernogorskiy Monastery), who sharply criticised Daniil over his views and activities.

The publication Nyxthimeron reported this.

Earlier, the archimandrite published a statement in which he refused to comply with the patriarch’s order to appear at the Sofia Metropolis. In response, the Sofia Metropolis today imposed a 15-day suspension from ministry on him and simultaneously initiated formal ecclesiastical judicial proceedings.

In his public statement, Archimandrite Nikanor criticises the primate for his pro-Russian position and says that as long as Patriarch Daniil heads the Bulgarian Church, he will not set foot inside the Sofia Metropolis. He also says that immediately after the current primate was elected, he decided to leave the jurisdiction of the Bulgarian Church and requested a canonical release, but the request has remained unanswered for about a year and a half.

The abbot of the Chernogorskiy Monastery sharply criticises the patriarch, accusing him of disregarding the will of the monastic brotherhood, violating the Church Statute and waging an administrative war against him personally and against the monastery.

The archimandrite claims that housing children from war-torn Ukraine at his monastery caused dissatisfaction among the Church leadership, and directly links the arrival of a new group of Ukrainian children to the latest disciplinary measures taken against him. At the same time, he sharply criticises the Patriarch’s position on the war, accusing him of a pro-Russian orientation and of never having expressed genuine support for the Ukrainian people.

Earlier LF published an interview with Archimandrite Nikanor, in which he reflects on the future of Orthodoxy, Moscow’s influence on the local Orthodox Churches, Russia’s war against Ukraine and the challenges facing modern Christianity.