Orthodoxy and the COVID-19 Pandemic in Romania and Bulgaria: Political Turmoil, Informal Networks, and Religious Scepticism

Abstract

Romania and Bulgaria stood out in the European Union as the countries with the lowest COVID vaccination rates. The article argues that Orthodox churches have played an influential role regarding the ways in which the population adhered (or failed to adhere) to national health measures. In Romania, the Church was divided between official and informal networks of social and political power which led to an increase in the far-right movement. In Bulgaria, the Church was closely associated with the government’s stance towards supporting health measures and, in the long term, political protests became associated with anti-vaccination program.