Parliament decides that only the BOC is an 'Orthodox' denomination

The Bulgarian Orthodox Church (BOC) is the only representative of the country's traditional Eastern Orthodoxy. This was decided by MPs in the final amendments to the Law on Religious Denominations. The amendment, which states that only the BOC can use the term Orthodox in its name, was supported by 186 MPs.

The legal changes were prompted by a 16 December decision by the Supreme Court of Cassation to register a religious organisation called the Old Calendar Orthodox Church of Bulgaria (OCOCB) in the court's public register. The Christian denomination has two months to change its name or its registration will be cancelled.