Bulgaria has expelled the head priest of the Russian Orthodox church in Sofia along with two Belarusian clergymen, Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov said in the capital on Friday.
The three were accused of acting against Bulgaria’s interests and were tagged for expulsion by the National Security Agency (DANS) after they were implicated by a secret report, according to Denkov.
The church in Sofia would cease its activities while the Russian Orthodox Church decided on its future, Moscow’s ambassador to Bulgaria, Eleonora Mitrofanova.
No concrete accusations had been made against the priests, Mitrofanova said in remarks on the website of the Russian Embassy in Sofia.
Tense relations between Russia and Bulgaria reached a low point in 2022 when 70 Russian diplomats and embassy employees were expelled on suspicion of espionage.
Bulgaria, a former Eastern Bloc member, is a member of both the European Union and NATO.
