Time flew by, and before anyone noticed, 1902 arrived without a ripple. This was an exceptionally important year, both for Ferdinand and for Bulgaria!
In March, Ferdinand's second son was born. He was given a name rich in Eastern Orthodox Church significance—Boris, the very name borne by the original owner's eldest son in history. His full name was: Boris Clement Robert Maria Pius Stanislav Saxe-Coburg-Gotha.
The reason for this name was chiefly that his eldest son, Little Ferdinand, had chosen Roman Catholicism as his faith. To soothe public sentiment, Ferdinand bestowed this distinctly Eastern Orthodox Church name upon his second son!
The method of choosing had been utterly childish. Witnessed by major religious figures throughout Bulgaria, the various factions each occupied one side. The little fellow crawled toward the Roman Catholic side, and this was naturally deemed God's will, bringing the struggle over his faith to an end.
The little fellow was probably quite frustrated. If Ferdinand had not snatched him up so quickly, he likely would not have minded making another round and mingling with every religion present!
In truth, religion in Bulgaria had already become a scene where a hundred schools contended. Though everyone believed in Christianity, Christianity's internal factions were a tangled mess.
Besides the three mainstream branches of Christianity—Catholicism, Protestantism, and the Eastern Orthodox Church—there was also a whole heap of minor sects. Naturally, Bulgaria was still dominated by the three major branches!
At present, Bulgaria had roughly 9.86 million Eastern Orthodox Church believers, accounting for around 73.6 percent; roughly 2.35 million Catholic believers, accounting for around 17.6 percent; and roughly 1.1 million Protestant believers, accounting for around 8.2 percent. The remainder belonged to other minor sects.
Yet the Eastern Orthodox Church itself was split into several groups. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church accounted for 31.5 percent,