site.btaRussian Church in Sofia Closes After Expulsion of Three Priests from Bulgaria

The St Nicholas of Myra Russian Church in Sofia  will cease its activities at this point and its future fate will be decided by the Russian Orthodox Church (ROC), the Russian Embassy in Sofia said on its Facebook page Friday.  

On Thursday, Bulgaria expelled the Rector of the Russian Orthodox Church in Sofia and two Belarusian priests, accusing them of serving Moscow's geopolitical interests. "The action was taken on the basis of a classified report. I only got familiar with it and I am not directly involved in making this decision, the decision is of the State Agency for National Security," Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov said Friday.

Bulgarian Ambassador to Moscow Atanas Kristin will be summoned to the Russian Foreign Ministry in connection with the expulsion of ROC priests from Bulgaria, Russian Ambassador to Sofia Eleonora Mitrofanova is quoted by TASS as saying on Russian TV. At the same time, she noted that "no one will take reciprocal actions against the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Moscow." "We are not barbarians," Mitrofanova added.