Bulgarian Patriarch Daniel has said that the issue of the Orthodox Church situation in Ukraine was discussed during his visit to Constantinople in an atmosphere of respect, without pressure on the position of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.

In an interview broadcast on Bulgaria’s BNT1 television channel, the patriarch explained that his visit to Constantinople in December 2025 was of a traditional and peaceful nature and was connected to his election to the patriarchal throne. Similar visits, he noted, had been made by his predecessors. During the preparatory stage, Patriarch Daniel said, it was agreed that representatives of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) would not take part in joint liturgical services. The OCU was granted autocephaly by Constantinople but has not been recognized by the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.

Patriarch Daniel recalled that in 2019, while serving as Metropolitan of Vidin, he sent letters to the local Orthodox Churches criticizing the canonical basis for the establishment of the OCU. He said that during a personal meeting with Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew, he apologized for the tone of those letters but did not renounce their substance.

“I support all the theses I expressed at that time, because these are dogmatic, canonical and ecclesiological issues,” Patriarch Daniel said.

He stressed that during discussions in Constantinople, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church was not asked to recognize the OCU. “None of us places ourselves above the Church. We expect that all disputed issues will receive a conciliar response,” the patriarch stated.

Speaking more broadly about inter-Orthodox relations, Patriarch Daniel cited the Bulgarian Orthodox Church’s recognition of the autocephalous status of the Macedonian Orthodox Church. He emphasized that this decision did not cause conflicts during liturgical services in Constantinople, despite the absence of a pan-Orthodox consensus on the matter.

According to the Bulgarian patriarch, this experience demonstrates that dialogue and mutual respect remain possible even amid unresolved and sensitive issues within the Orthodox world.