Bulgaria's Church Wants Its Opinion on Some Draft Laws to Be Considered

The Sofia News Agency novinite.com reports that His Holiness Neofit, Patriarch of Bulgaria has sent a letter to Speaker of Parliament Tsetska Tsacheva demanding that the Holy Synod be afforded the opportunity to give its opinion on bills concerning healthcare, educaiton, morality, and cultural heritage.

The Patriarch reminded the Speaker that such a practice was employed by former governments and called for its restoration: "It impresses one that, lately, this mutually beneificial practice has been forgotten, but we sincerely hope it hasn't been abandoned."

The Patriarch cited as an example of when the Holy Synod could have been invited to discussions in Parliament a draft law on pre-school education and schooling, considering the Church's emphasis on the introduction of the subject of religion in the schools of the majority-Orthodox nation.

Patriarch Neofit reminded the Speaker: "It was only the Church that preserved education through the schools it created and supported" during the years of captivity when there was neither Bulgarian state nor system of education."