Уставът - "конституцията" на българската православна църква - българска патриаршия
The Statute - the "Constitution" of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church - Bulgarian Patriarchate

Author(s): Mariya Kyoseva
Subject(s): Law, Constitution, Jurisprudence, Canon Law / Church Law, Court case
Published by: Пловдивски университет »Паисий Хилендарски«
Keywords: Bulgarian Orthodox Church; statute; identity; conciliarity
Summary/Abstract: The study presents the characteristics and legal nature of the Statute of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church (BOC) as a legal entity (ex lege). The Statute is an expression of the identity of the BOC as an autocephalous church and on a secondary level it is an internal organizational act and a mandatory legal individualizing feature of the BOC as a subject of law. The thesis is argued that the provisions of the Statute cannot be changed based on the autonomy of the will as clauses of a contract due to their predetermination by the principles of conciliarity and hierarchy of the Orthodox Church. The Statute of the BOC is cited as an example of one of the most sustainable regulatory systems, which ensures the institutional continuity of the BOC though the centuries. The Statute of the BOC, whose sources are canons with centuries of existence, bears only the formal linguistic name "Statute", and in essence is a "mini codification of ecclesiastical law in Bulgaria". In support of the theoretical theses, an interpretive practice of the Supreme Court of Cassation on the normative force of the Statute of the BOC is presented.

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