The Directorate of Religious Affairs with the Council of Ministers is a specialized unit functioning according to Article 35 of the Religious Denominations Act, effective as of 03.01.2003

Activities

• Opinions related to registration of religious denominations
• Continued sojourn of foreign clerics
• Analyses and opinions about Council of Ministers decisions related to opening schools for clerics, designation of holidays for celebration of feast days of denominations other than Eastern Orthodoxy
• Outlines for distribution of state subsidy intended for religious denominations Functions
• When commissioned, participates in the drafting of bills, decrees, decisions and orders relevant to religious issues
• Coordinates the relations of the executive with religious denominations
• When commissioned, participates in the discussion of bills at the National Assembly standing committees
• Prepares the responses of the Prime Minister relevant to religious matters during Question Time at Parliament
• Represents the executive at services or reception of foreign religious delegations in theh cases when higher level attendance is not required
• Issues attestations relevant to the inheritance of religious denominations and previously existing religious, religious and cultural, and public charity legal persons that existed in the period before 1949
• Prepares opinions to Sofia City Court upon registration of religious denominations
• Organizes and heads the work of an expert consultative committee on denominational problems
• Assists the Council of Ministers in the implementation of the state policy of maintaining tolerance and respect between the various denominations
• Participates in international and national forums dedicated to religious issues and the condition of religious rights and freedoms in the Republic of Bulgaria
• Contacts and coordinates with similar establishments abroad, international religious and human rights organizations
• Maintains the daily correspondence of the Council of Ministers with organizations and individuals on matters of principle within its specialized field of operation
• Provides the competent state authorities with opinions at issuance of residence permits for foreign clerics in Bulgaria invited by the central leaderships of the denominations

Assists for

• the reception of visas and residence permits of Bulgarian clerics abroad
• Certifies the diplomas of graduates of higher theological establishments pursuant to Article 33 (7) of the Religious Denominations Act
• Investigates the needs and proposes to the Council of Ministers inclusions in the draft state budget relevant to the state subsidy in support of denominations. Provides the sums approved with the State Budget Act to the leaderships of the specific denominations
• Maintains and updates a public register of places of worship, churches and monasteries of the religious institutions entered at Sofia City Court
• Controls abidance by the Religious Denominations Act
• Checks alerts and appeals for violations of religious rights and freedoms, as well as for illegal religious activity
• Monitors abidance by the religious rights and freedoms by the obligated officials
• Issues memorandums attesting to established violations of the Religious Denominations Act, as well as penal decrees, as the case may be