Holy Synod to hold sitting over annulment of Varna Bishop elections results

Sofia. Holy Synod, ruling body of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, will hold a sitting today over a petition launched by priests in the coastal city Varna in which they express their discontent with the results from the first round of elections for Metropolitan Bishop of Varna and Veliki Preslav.
The sitting is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. this evening and the Holy Synod is expected to rule whether the results will be annulled or the second round of elections will be held tomorrow.
Provat Bishop Ignatiy and Agathonisi Bishop Boris are the two candidates for Metropolitan Bishop of Varna and Veliki Preslav. They were elected in the first round of elections on November 17 among 13 Bishops.
Varna priests and parishioners fear the Bishops won the first round of elections after votes had been bought and demand the Holy Synod probe the results from the elections.
Previous Metropolitan Bishop of Varna and Veliki Preslav Kiril drowned in the Black Sea near Varna in July and the autopsy results showed he had died from hypothermia after diving in very cold sea waters, although a number of people have since expressed doubts whether this was the real cause for his death.