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The Minister of Justice: State may take action on closed temple

Атанас Славов
Photo: BGNES

 "It is unacceptable for the Russian state, in the person of Ambassador Mitrofanova, to close a temple, moreover that it is under the jurisdiction of the Bulgarian Patriarch and the Bulgarian Orthodox Church," Bulgaria's Justice Minister wrote on Facebook, adding that "in this way, Ambassador Mitrofanova prevents all of us from offering our prayers and from worshipping the relics of St. Seraphim of Sofia the Wonderworker." This is how Minister Atanas Slavov commented on the Russian Embassy's decision to close the St. Nicholas The Miracle-Maker Church after Sofia expelled three of its priests accused of spying for Moscow. 
Minister Slavov described what happened as "canonical autocracy". He assumed that the state might take measures because of the closed capital church. 
According to Metropolitan Kyprian, Russian Patriarch Kirill, who is about to send a new representative of his church to the country, is likely to decide when the church will be opened. 



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