GERB proposes changes to the Law on Religious Denominations, which would explicitly state that the only representative of the traditional religion for the country - Eastern Orthodoxy - is the Bulgarian Orthodox Church - Bulgarian Patriarchate. This is stated in a press release issued by the party's press center.
According to GERB, registered religious denominations can freely determine their names, but must clearly distinguish themselves from the only Orthodox church recognized by law, namely the Bulgarian Orthodox Church - Bulgarian Patriarchate.
In their motivations for the bill, GERB recalls that, assuming as the content of the legal norm that the Bulgarian Orthodox Church - The Bulgarian Patriarchate is a member of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church, the legislator recognizes only this abbreviation BPC – BP, which is approved by the canons of the Ecumenical Church and this is the traditional Orthodox confession, which has in mind the constitutional norm of Art. 13, para. 3 of the Law on Religious Denominations.
The proposal made in the bill aims not to create a new, different legal substantive situation and to exclude any possibility of incorrect law enforcement and/or interpretation.