The abbot of Bulgaria's Glozhene Monastery, Jeromonk Pankratiy, set the cloister on fire twice on Sunday night after shooting at several visitors.

The atrocities began after a quarrel between Pankratiy and a group of laymen, which drove the priest mad enough to start shooting at them with a gas pistol shortly after midnight.

Few minutes later, the priest went to the monastery's vestry, set it on fire and run away by his own jeep, which was also burnt in the area of Predela.

Meanwhile, firefighters from the services in Teteven and Yablanitsa managed to extinguish the flames but abbot Pankratyi returned at 6 a.m. and set fire to the vestry once again.

Then he tried to hide but police officers found him after a long search.

The abbot was arrested for 24 hours. He however had to be transported to a hospital in the town of Lovech as his right hand hurt and doctors assumed it could have been broken.

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