During the discussions two political camps emerged. The ″liberal-democratic″ camp included Petko Slaveykov, Todor Ikonomov and Stoyan Chomakov which argued about priority of democratic and representative functions of the Exarchate. From their point of view, civil members of the Exarchate's institutions should lead conduction of administrative functions, outside of strictly religious practices. The ″conservative″ camp argued about keeping strict church hierarchy in Exarchate's activities, pleaded for strict following of Orthodox traditions and insisted on more institutional powers based on the Exarch figure. Representatives of ″conservative″ camp were P.V. Odjakov and Ilarion Makariopolski. This political discussion continued ideological opposition between ″young″ and ″old″ patriotic groups, which were in the foundation of differentiation between the Conservative and Liberal political fractions in the Constituent Assembly in 1879 in Veliko Tarnovo. Bulgarian schism The first (after Hilarion of Lovech had to resign before being confirmed by the government) Bulgarian Exarch was Antim I who was elected by the Holy Synod of the Exarchate on . On , in the Bulgarian St. Stephen Church in Constantinople, which had been closed by the Ecumenical Patriarch's order, Antim I, along with other Bulgarian hierarchs who were then restricted from all priestly ministries, celebrated a liturgy, whereafter he declared autocephaly of the Bulgarian Church. The Patriarchal Synod reacted by defrocking Antim I and excommunicating others, including Ilarion Stoyanov. The decision on the unilateral declaration of autocephaly by the Bulgarian Church was not accepted by the Patriarchate of Constantinople. The subsequent Council in Constantinople, chaired by Ecumenical Patriarch Anthimus VI, in September 1872, wherein the Patriarchs of Alexandria, Antioch and Jerusalem (the latter declined to sign the Council's decisions) also participated, declared on September 18 (September 30) the Bulgarian Exarchate schismatic and declared its adherents excommunicated. The latter were accused of having “surrendered Orthodoxy to ethnic nationalism”, which had been qualified as a heresy - "ethnophyletism" (). Furthermore on January 21, 1872, on request of the Patriarch and under the influence of Count Nikolai Ignatiev, then an influential Russian Ambassador in Constantinople, the Ottoman government sent into exile in Izmir, Anatolia three Bulgarian clerks Hilarion of Makariopolis, Panaret of Plovdiv and Hilarion of Lovech. The energetic protests of the Bulgarian community in Istanbul, reverts the decision short after. The Russian Most Holy Synod claimed neutrality, but the Russian government, represented by Count Nikolai Ignatiev, actively mediated in the Greek-Bulgarian dispute. The unity of the Orthodox Church was instrumental for