The Bulgarian authorities expelled from the country Archimandrite Vasian, head of the courtyard of the Russian Orthodox Church in Sofia, and two employees of the holy monastery. This was reported by TASS, referring to information from the Russian Embassy in Bulgaria.

"Bulgarian authorities consider Father Vasian a threat to national security," the Russian diplomats said.

The Russian embassy in Bulgaria came out with a strong position on the case. Here is what it says:

"On September 21, the Bulgarian authorities took harsh, egregious actions to expel the head of the Russian Orthodox Church in Sofia, Archimandrite Vasian, and two employees of the Church of St. Nicholas the Miracle-Maker. We are outraged by the fact and the form of the decision taken by the Bulgarian side. It is obvious that the current leadership of Bulgaria has set itself the task of destroying not only the socio-political, cultural and humanitarian ties between our countries, but also to break relations between the sister Russian and Bulgarian Orthodox churches and to embitter the Russian and Bulgarian peoples against each other.
It is especially telling that this step was taken on the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary - a holy and pure day for the believers of the Russian Orthodox Church. We emphasize that the responsibility for the headlong degradation of bilateral interaction rests entirely on the Bulgarian side".

A few days ago, it became clear that Vasian Zmeev, together with three Russian diplomats, were expelled by the authorities in North Macedonia because of information that they were Russian spies.

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