It is the autocephalous church of Bulgaria, headed by a patriarch in Sofia and shaped by the Slavonic liturgical heritage of Saints Cyril and Methodius.
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church traces its roots to the medieval Bulgarian patriarchates and was recognized as autocephalous by the Ecumenical Patriarchate in 1945 after a long schism. Its Holy Synod is led by the Patriarch of Bulgaria, and its parishes serve Bulgaria and Bulgarian diaspora communities abroad.
Sources
Primary
- Statute of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, adopted in 2008
Secondary
- John Anthony McGuckin, The Encyclopedia of Eastern Orthodox Christianity (2011)