For a month now, a clergyman from the Ecumenical Patriarchate has been taking care of the Bulgarian municipality in Istanbul. After a long service, the former priest returned to Bulgaria and another clergyman was appointed in his place by the Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew. The tradition of the Bulgarian municipality in Istanbul to select a Bulgarian clergyman, who is then appointed by the Ecumenical Patriarch, has been broken. For decades, the selection had been carried out in the spirit of mutual understanding with the Bulgarian Patriarchate.

Bulgarians in Istanbul expect an official statement from the Holy Synod. We insist on keeping the tradition! We want a priest from Bulgaria with the blessing and approval of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, Hristo Kopano, a member of the Bulgarian Board of Trustees, told BNR.