site.btaExarch Stefan Takes Special Credit for Bulgarian Jews' Saving, Scholars Say

Exarch Stefan I of Bulgaria is among the personalities who take special credit for the rescue of Bulgarian Jews from the Holocaust during in 1943, 80 years ago. The assessment comes from Prof. Dimo Cheshmedzhiev and Assoc. Prof. Rusalena Pandzhekova, who have explored the Exarch's archive legacy.  

In an 18-page handwritten memoir, dated to October 1950, Stefan recalled his share in the rescue of the Bulgaria Jews and the role of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. "I still keep painful memories of the persecution of the Jews," he wrote.  

The spiritual leader's consistent position can also be traced in the minutes of proceedings of the Holy Synod sessions back since the autumn of 1940, when Stefan was Metropolitan of Sofia. "Judging from his statements, he was particularly active between April and June 1943. He approached the Palace and all factors in charge," Pendzhekova explained, adding that the Metropolitan wrote circulars, petitions, reports and presentations, arguing against the deportation of the Jews, and he gave the Chief Rabbi refuge at his own home. As a true hierarch, he was a staunch defender of all minorities and the refugees and not just of the Jews. In a presentation to the Synod he insisted that "our magnanimous people will probable be ashamed and otherwise embarrassed if we do not intervene in these developments now." The clergyman condemned the Law for the Protection of the Nation and took innumerable actions for the cancellation of the Jews' deportation.

When it transpired in the spring of 1943 that a deportation order had already been issued, the Metropolitan moved in to halt this process, said Prof. Cheshmedzhiev. Stefan first pressured King Boris III himself, who was hesitant about the deportation and was looking for a way to prevent it. Cheshemedzhiev attaches particular attention to a famous speech that the clergyman delivered on May 24, 1943, declaring himself against the deportation of the Bulgarian Jews and saying that he would open the doors of the churches and shelter the Jews there. The professor pointed out that by referring to an ancient principle of  the right to take refuge in a church, Stefan was instrumental in saving the Bulgarian Jews. 

Jews from the Sofia Eparchy also went on record remembering the Exarch's role, Pendzhekova said. She noted that the prelate did so risking his life because pro-Nazi organizations called for his murder. "Nevertheless, in that hostile situation he had the courage to take a stand against the deportation, to write to the King, to the Prime Minister and to the Government, to head the protests, and to hide Jews," the Associate Professor pointed out. She sees Stefan as an extraordinary role model who is really needed at present because he was guided above all by humanism.

During observances of the 80th anniversary of the rescue of Bulgarian Jews, Exarch Stefan is rarely mentioned, Pendzhekova noted, adding that he is seen as a controversial figure. The documents on his lifework are available at public archives, and "everyone can read and compare instead of opting for a lopsided, biased or manipulative interpretation of individuals' roles in those processes," she explained.

Born Stoyan Popgeorgiev Shokov in the Shiroka Laka village near Smolyan (South Central Bulgaria) in 1878, he studied theology in Samokov and Kiev and took monastic vows in 1910. Bishop Stefan of Marcianopolis was ordained Metropolitan of Sofia in 1921 and was elected Bulgarian Exarch on January 21, 1945. An outspoken opponent of the anti-religious policy of the communist authorities, he was forced to resign as exarch in September 1948 and was sent into internal exile to the Banya village near Karlovo (Central Bulgaria), where he died in 1957.

He was awarded the honorary title of Righteous Among the Nations on November 11, 2001.

Exarch Stefan's monument in his native village attracts visiting Israeli tourists of all age groups, who pay tribute to one of the rescuers of the Bulgarian Jews, says Shiroka Laka Mayor Vasil Sedyankov. The house where the Exarch was born will shortly be converted into a museum.

The Bulgarian News Agency (BTA), in partnership with the Alef Jewish-Bulgarian Cooperation Center, set itself the task of publishing a series of articles recalling the past events and the people involved in it, and to present the importance of the rescue and the rescuers. Nearly 50,000 lives were saved in Bulgaria. According to information on the website of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Remembrance Center, Bulgaria had 50,000 Jews before World War II and zero victims. It is the only country with zero victims.