Thank you for your submission.
Through the prayers of our heavenly Patron and Protector
May the Lord bless this undertaking. Amen.
With love in the Lord, + Metropolitan JOSEPH
Dear Compatriots,
With the above blessing of +Metropolitan Joseph for our community’s efforts to re-establish the St. Ivan Rilski Church, we present for your consideration the draft bylaws of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church “St. Ivan Rilski”, Chicago.
To prepare this document, we utilized:
- the bylaws of the Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Diocese in the USA, Canada, and Australia, under the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church;
- the bylaws of related Bulgarian Orthodox churches from the USA and Canada.
We conducted the following meetings and consultations:
- Ice Miller – a law firm. We consulted on key issues related to the activities and management of church organizations.
- Wagenmaker & Oberly – a law firm specializing exclusively in representing church organizations and entities.
- The Church Board of “St. Andrew”, a Ukrainian Orthodox Church in Glendale Heights, which is one of the largest Orthodox churches in Illinois. They familiarized us with their bylaws, their work, and the challenges they have faced over the years.
After gathering all opinions from the above-mentioned, plus the invaluable advice that many of you provided us, the law firm of Wagenmaker & Oberly prepared the proposed bylaws. We offer it for your consideration in Bulgarian and English versions. We kindly ask you to use the attached form and provide your support by 12 PM on March 29, 2025. On the same day, at 3:00 PM, we are scheduling a special parish meeting to discuss and adopt the bylaws at “Little Bulgaria” Center, 832 Lee St, Des Plaines.
Once adopted, the bylaws will be sent to His Eminence +Metropolitan Joseph for approval and blessing for the opening of the church.
We would like to emphasize that throughout the entire process, for every single step, we informed and consulted with the Diocese in New York and personally with +Metropolitan Joseph, with the aim of laying a solid foundation for our endeavor.
With love in the Lord,
The Church Board
Bulgarian Orthodox Church “St. Ivan Rilski”, Chicago
