Between Faith and Compromise. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the Communist State, 1944-1989

1. Entity type Lemma
2. Original titleМежду вярата и компромиса. Българската православна църква и комунистическата държава (1944-1989 г.)
3. Language term Bulgarian
4. lemma author Nachev, Ivaylo
5. lemma category Culture and national identities
6. Publication date 27-7-2017
7. lemma work Методиев, Момчил [Author]. Between Faith and Compromise. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church and the Communist State, 1944-1989
8. lemma manifestations Между вярата и компромиса. Българската православна църква и комунистическата държава (1944-1989 г.) - София: Сиела, 2010.
9. Keywords Bulgarian Orthodox Church - atheism
10. Lemma body

    1. The book constitutes one of the most complex and comprehensive researches of the relations between the communist regime in Bulgaria and the Bulgarian Orthodox Church (BOC). The subject has been examined in a number of other works, including a number of monograph studies. Metodiev’s book built upon these works making a number of contributions. The author thoroughly analysed the subject in the historical contexof the entire period (1944 – 1989) instead of only a part of it which is the case with many other titles. The book distinguishes itself with its scope and size and it is also based on very detailed research of significant quantity of less known archival material, including a large corpus of documents of the Communist party and various institutions.
       The book includes seven chapters, the first making an overview of the framework of the state policy, with the following three examining chronologically main phases of the state-church relations. The fifth chapter looked at BOC’s international activity (in a period of severe isolation from the outside world), the sixth – with emigrant Church organizations, while the Zograf monastery at Mouth Athos is the subject of the seventh chapter.
       Metodiev carefully examined various stages and methods which the totalitarian state pursed in its goal for suppressing the Church’s influence in society and marginalization of its social role, part of the wider effort to erase religion which was seen as dangerous ideological competitor. The author devoted significant attention to the role of the state secret services but as he pointed this was just one of the channels for exerting control so the author studied as well a wide range of other problems. In addition to a very detailed look at all situations in which the communist state intervened – from repressions, through clergy appointments and introduction of legislation and new rituals and holidays – the book dealt with topics such as the antireligious and atheistic propaganda. Metodiev also elaborated on strategies and specific actions of the clergy to cope with the pressure. The process of secularization in all of its forms and with all of its consequences is another of author’s main topics. Metodiev’s opinion is that the Bulgarian society is an extremely secularized one, to a big extent due to the massive atheistic propaganda during the entire communist period.