site.btaHoly Synod of Bulgarian Orthodox Church Hopes Russian Church in Sofia Will Reopen Soon

The Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church-Bulgarian Patriarchate said it adopted the following decisions at a meeting on Tuesday:

- It fully supports the letter and the actions of the Bulgarian Patriarch in his capacity as Metropolitan of Sofia regarding the St Nicholas of Myra Church in Sofia and the sending of the letter to Patriarch Kirill of Moscow and All Russia.

- The Holy Synod expresses hope that the church will reopen as soon as possible, but this matter is not within the competence and powers of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church-Bulgarian Patriarchate.

- It assigns the canon law committee with the Holy Synod the responsibility to study and analyse the statutes concerning the metochi (podvorye, representation churches) in Sofia and Moscow. The Holy Synod will then have its say.

Metropolitan Daniil of Vidin voted against the above decision with a dissenting opinion, the press release said.

The St Nicholas of Myra Russian Church in Sofia was closed on September 22, a day after the expulsion of its rector and two Belarusian priests accused of serving Moscow's geopolitical interests. They were expelled from Bulgaria, stripped of the right of residence and barred from entering this country for a period of five years by order of the Chairperson of the State Agency for National Security.