Archimandrite Vassian, the abbot of the Russian Orthodox Church, was sent from Bulgaria
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On Thursday, Bulgaria deported Archimandrite Vassian, the abbot of the Russian Orthodox Church in Sofia, and two other clergymen. This was reported by the Bulgarian Service of Radio Free Europe with reference to the statements of the Russian Embassy in Sofia and the State Agency of National Security of Bulgaria.
The country’s authorities cited a threat to national security as the reason for the deportation of ROC priests.
According to Eleonora Mitrofanova, the Russian ambassador to Bulgaria, the priests were released to the immigration service on Thursday, where they were told that they must leave the country immediately. The police took them home to collect their belongings, and then to the border with Serbia. The Russian Embassy called the actions of the Bulgarian authorities “gross, egregious actions”, noting that today’s Orthodox holiday is the Nativity of the Virgin.
The Bulgarian National Security Agency confirmed that three foreign citizens were expelled from the country. They are indicated by initials. Initials of the citizen of Russia N.Z. correspond to Vassyan’s secular name – Nikolay Zmeev. Two more exiled priests are citizens of Belarus.
“Measures were taken in connection with their activities directed against the national security and interests of the Republic of Bulgaria,” the message says.
According to the Bulgarian service of Radio Free Europe, on September 17, North Macedonia, bordering Bulgaria, declared three Russian diplomats as persona non grata. According to Macedonian and Bulgarian mass media, one of them is precisely Archimandrite Vassian (Zmeev). The site dveri.bg asserts that Vassyan was carrying out orders from Moscow to “introduce a schism in the Macedonian Church.”
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