Repression or Collaboration? State and Church in Bulgaria at the Beginning of the Cold War (1944 – 1961)
Repression or Collaboration? State and Church in Bulgaria at the Beginning of the Cold War (1944 – 1961)

Summary/Abstract: Paradoxically, after a long period of schism from the Orthodox family, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church’s international status was restored and elevated during the years of Stalinism with the support of the newly established communist regime in Bulgaria. The first patriarch of the modern Bulgarian Patriarchate was elected on 10 May 1953, though his title was recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarchate as late as 1961. Does this mean that the Bulgarian Church was tolerated by the communist regime? How can this support from the secular authorities be explained within the wider context of inter-Orthodox relations at the beginning of the Cold War? This article answers these questions based on newly accessible official state archives, archives of the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, recently declassified archives of the communist State Security, and other scholarly research. It argues that the election of the patriarch and the elevation of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church were part of a broader process of communist authorities establishing control over the Church.

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