Podcast in English
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

European Human Rights Court declares another church lawsuit against Bulgaria illegitimate

Photo: European Human Rights Court

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has declared the complaint of the Orthodox Christian Church and Others v. Bulgaria inadmissible. The decision was made unanimously on March 6 and is final, the Ministry of Justice announced.

The reason for filing the case with the European Human Rights Court is the refusal of the Bulgarian courts to register the church founded by Hristo Petrov Sabev. The allegations are a violation of Art. 9 (freedom of thought, conscience and religion) and Art. 11 (freedom of assembly and association) of the Convention for the Protection of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms.

The Bulgarian courts point out that the name Orthodox Christian Church is similar to that of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church (BOC), may create confusion among believers and mislead, because the founders share the same religious beliefs and practices as the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.

The European Human Rights Court distinguishes the present case from the previous cases “Independent Orthodox Church and Zahariev v. Bulgaria” and “Bulgarian Orthodox Old Style Church and Others v. Bulgaria”, in which it considered that although the difference in the names is in one word, it is very specific and this sufficiently distinguishes them from the Bulgarian Orthodox Church and does not create a risk of confusion among believers.




Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.

More from category

Bulgaria switches to daylight saving time on last Sunday of March

On 30 March, Bulgaria is switching to daylight saving time, the Bulgarian Institute of Metrology has announced, as reported by the Bulgarian news agency BTA. At 3 AM on 30 March, clocks must be set forward by one hour. The country switched to..

published on 3/11/25 9:18 AM
onstitutional Court President Pavlina Panova

Constitutional Court accuses Central Election Commission and Information Services of sabotage

The Central Election Commission (CEC) must carry out the re-calculation of the election results it has been tasked with by the Constitutional Court. This will show whether there are any changes in the distribution of seats in the 51 st National..

published on 3/11/25 8:59 AM

Strong wind warning for 18 regions of Bulgaria on Tuesday

A yellow code for strong wind has been issued for 18 regions of Bulgaria on  Tuesday . The minimum temperatures will be 4 to 9°C, around 4°C in Sofia.   It will be sunny over most of the country before noon.  Cloudiness will increase in the..

published on 3/10/25 7:15 PM