The decision to abstain from any concelebration and from performing any ceremony with Metropolitan Leonid of Klin of the Moscow Patriarchate was taken by the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Bulgaria.
The Holy Synod met on February 24 at a scheduled meeting and examined the letter sent by Patriarch Theodore of Alexandria, in which he informed about the non-canonical actions of the Patriarch of Moscow in the canonical territory of the Patriarchate of Alexandria, the suspension of his commemoration and the imposition of an ecclesiastical penalty on the Metropolitan of Klin.
After a vote, the Holy Synod of the Patriarchate of Bulgaria decided that it would send the letter to the Canon Law Committee of the Synod, which will thoroughly investigate the problem that has arisen on the territory of the Patriarchate of Alexandria.
In connection with this decision and after a vote, the Holy Synod also decided that the clergy of the Patriarchate of Bulgaria will abstain from worship events with Metropolitan Leonid of Klin until the final decision of the Holy Synod.
Patriarch Neophyte of Bulgaria and the other Metropolitans except for Gabriel of Lovech, Ioannis of Veliki Preslav (Great Preslav), and Daniel of Vidin voted in favor of the decision.
It is recalled that at the end of November, the Patriarchate of Alexandria decided to remove Metropolitan Leonid of Klin “for a series of canonical offenses” and condemned the “ecclesiastical-political theories about the pastoral care of the Russian world around the world on the basis of nationality”.
At the same time, he decided to stop the commemoration of Patriarch Kirill of Moscow.
