The Patriarchate in Belgrade has accused Bulgaria of genocide against the Serbs in "Vardar Serbia", pointing to the systematic extermination of entire Serbian families with the aim of eradicating the Serbian national spirit, BGNES reported. According to the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC), the Bulgarian actions were focused particularly on priests, teachers, and intellectuals, and resulted in the complete denationalization of substantial parts of the Serbian population. This commentary, published on the SOC’s official website, frames these events as a national catastrophe for the Serbs in "Vardar Serbia" (now North Macedonia) and Kosovo and Metohija during the late 20th century.

The commentary, based on decisions from the Holy Council of Bishops held in Belgrade on May 24, 2017, highlights the incorporation of the Holy Martyrs of Surdulica into the diptych of saints. This decision was proposed by Bishop Pachomius of Vranje and recognized several thousand victims of Bulgarian violence during World War I. The document references the work of three investigative bodies: the Inter-Allied Commission for the Investigation of Bulgarian Violations in Occupied Serbia (1915–1918), led by Swiss scientist Dr. Rudolf Archibald Reiss; the International Commission on Bulgarian Crimes, led by American journalist William Drayton; and the 1919 report by the Surdulica Municipality, which detailed these atrocities. Among the victims identified in these reports were senior church figures such as Metropolitan Vikentij Kardžić of Skopje, Bishop Nikifor Perić of Prizren, and the abbot of the St. Prohor Pčinski Monastery, Vladimir Protić, along with the monastery’s entire brotherhood.

May 29 was designated by the Holy Synod of Bishops as the day to commemorate the martyrs of Surdulica, the date when their relics were placed in a memorial ossuary in 2010. The website of Mount Athos further elaborated on these events, describing the horrific crimes committed by Bulgarian occupying forces during the retreat of the Serbian army and civilians toward Albania in World War I. Surdulica and its surroundings became infamous for the executions of prominent Serbs - clergy, judges, merchants, officers, teachers, children, and others. Many of these people never made it to Bulgaria as planned, instead being executed in Surdulica itself.

The report underscores that the Bulgarian authorities have never opened their state archives to reveal the exact numbers or identities of the victims. As a result, the estimated number of those killed ranges from six to eight thousand. The sites where remains were found after the war include Duboka dolina, Vlashki dol, Kalifer, Popov most, Zankova livada, Radicheva živa, Trshina livada, and other locations around Surdulica.

The history of the Surdulica memorial ossuary is portrayed as a reflection of the broader tragedy that befell the Serbian people across "Vardar Serbia", Kosovo and Metohija, and Eastern and Southern Serbia. The text notes that the Serbian population in these borderlands has faced repeated efforts to erase their national identity - first under Ottoman rule and later during the Bulgarian occupation. In times of turmoil, countless historical records and personal documents were lost in flames, erasing the memory of Serbian endurance in these regions.

The Patriarchate concludes that the precise number of Serbs killed in Surdulica and surrounding areas will likely remain unknown because the Bulgarian state archives will probably never be opened to reveal these truths. It argues that Bulgaria’s campaign was designed to annihilate the Serbian national spirit and ensure it could never recover. The systematic targeting of priests, teachers, and intellectuals, it claims, created a vacuum that paved the way for the rise of communism between the world wars and in the post-war period - an outcome seen as another national disaster for the Serbian people in these lands, especially in "Vardar Serbia" and Kosovo and Metohija.

Bulgaria firmly rejects the Serbian Orthodox Church’s claims of genocide and forced denationalization in "Vardar Serbia" and Kosovo, arguing that these accusations are based on limited evidence and heavily influenced by national biases. Bulgarian historians point out that while the occupation of these areas during World War I did lead to hardship and civilian deaths, there is no solid proof of a planned extermination campaign against Serbs. They also highlight that most of the existing reports come from Serbian or Allied sources, written in a time of intense conflict and propaganda.