ЦЪРКОВНА ДИПЛОМАЦИЯ ЗА НАЦИОНАЛНА КАУЗА: БЪЛГАРСКАТА ПРАВОСЛАВНА ЦЪРКВА В ЗАЩИТА НА НАЦИОНАЛНИТЕ ПРАВА НА БЪЛГАРИТЕ В СЪСЕДНИТЕ СТРАНИ В ПЕРИОДА МЕЖДУ ДВЕТЕ СВЕТОВНИ ВОЙНИ
CHURCH DIPLOMACY FOR A NATIONAL CAUSE: THE BULGARIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH IN DEFENCE OF THE NATIONAL RIGHTS OF THE BULGARIANS IN THE NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES BETWEEN THE TWO WORLD WARS

Summary/Abstract: The Bulgarian Orthodox Church (BOC) has played an important role in the efforts for defending the national rights of the Bulgarians in the neighbouring countries during the period between the two World Wars. The church activities in that field could be considered and assessed not only as an informal and unofficial diplomacy but also as a specific type of diplomacy, namely church diplomacy. The most important manifestation of BOC’s diplomatic activities is the establishment and the subsequent activities of The World Alliance for Promoting International Friendship Through the Churches. The article examines the participation of the BOC in the congresses and conferences of the Alliance, as well as in the regional conferences of the representatives of the churches from the Balkan countries. The focus is also on the person and the role of protopresbyter professor Stefan Tzankov (1881–1965) who was one of the most authoritative churchmen and theologians within the BOC in the first half of the twentieth century. He made significant contributions to the Christian peacemaking and to the movement for rapprochement and unification of the churches, which is why he has been called “a pioneer of ecumenism” both during his lifetime and posthumously.

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