Bulgaria’s Orthodox Church has caused raised eyebrows after electing a pro-Russian clergyman as its new head. The Church elected ‘Daniil,’ a 52-year-old considered to be pro-Russian, as its new Patriarch in a vote that reflected the divisions in the church and wider society since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022. Pro- and anti-Russian factions have been butting heads within the senior Bulgarian clergy since 2019 – after the Orthodox Church of Ukraine was recognized by the Ecumenical Patriarch in Constantinople. The Ecumenical Patriarch is regarded as the representative and spiritual lea…