ПРОГРАМИ
en de ru fr es sr gr al tr ro
Podcast in English
Share
Text size
Bulgarian National Radio © 2025 All Rights Reserved

The fate of the Russian Church in Sofia will be decided by the Russian Orthodox Church 

Руската църква
Photo: Ани Петрова

Citizens gathered in front of the Church of St. Nicholas the Miracle-Maker, widely known as the Russian Church, in Sofia to express their dissatisfaction with its closing. 

"The Russian temple, which for many years was a place of common prayer for Russians and Bulgarians, will now be closed," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said after the Bulgarian authorities decided to expel the church's head and two Belarusian priests. This was done on the grounds that the clerics posed a threat to national security. 

Meanwhile, the Minister of Military Affairs, Todor Tagarev, said that the services had compelling information that the three were serving Moscow's geopolitical interests. "There is a SANS report that shows that they are carrying out actions that are not consistent with their status in Bulgaria," Prime Minister Nikolai Denkov said. 

"The Church of St. Nicholas the Miracle-Maker will at this stage cease its activities, its further fate will be decided by the Russian Orthodox Church," reads a message on the Facebook page of the Russian Embassy in the country.

Russian Ambassador to Bulgaria Eleonora Mitrofanova told Russia-24 online live TV channel that the Bulgarian Ambassador to Russia Atanas Kristin will be summoned at the Russian Foreign Ministry over the expulsion of the three priests. "I think that no one will take mirror actions with regard to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Moscow. We are not barbarians," Mitrofanova said.

Последвайте ни и в Google News Showcase, за да научите най-важното от деня!
Listen to the daily news from Bulgaria presented in "Bulgaria Today" podcast, available in Spotify.
Radio Bulgaria News    Church of St. Nicholas the Miracle-Maker Eleonora Mitrofanova Maria Zakharova the Russian Church Todor Tagarev

More from category

The weather remains mostly cloudy and rainy, but with no precipitation in the southwestern regions

On Friday , the lowest temperatures will be between 5 and 10°C; in Sofia - it will be around 6°C. During the day it will be cloudy and with precipitation. In Northwestern Bulgaria the amounts will be significant. Almost no..

published on 11/6/25 7:50 PM
Iliana Iotova

Iliana Iotova: No one has reassured Bulgarians that there will be no fuel problems

''I am not surprised that the president’s veto concerning the sale of Lukoil’s assets was overturned, because even on such a delicate, serious and worrying issue, there were no arguments or discussion'', Vice President Iliana Iotova told journalists..

published on 11/6/25 5:54 PM
A press conference of the Bulgarian Association of Sterility and Reproductive Health

Birth rate in Bulgaria has decreased by 33% since 1994

Birth rate in Bulgaria has decreased by 33% over the past three decades. In 1994, 79,442 live births were registered in the country, while in 2024 the number dropped to 53,428. 6.5% of Bulgarian children are now born through in vitro fertilization..

published on 11/6/25 5:15 PM

WEATHER
Pick city: Sofía
Rain
Min: 8 | Max: 14
Cloudy
Min: 13 | Max: 18
Cloudy
Min: 12 | Max: 17
Scattered showers
Min: 9 | Max: 13
Overcast, rain
Min: 9 | Max: 15
Scattered showers
Min: 9 | Max: 16
Scattered showers
Min: 9 | Max: 17
Cloudy
Min: 9 | Max: 16
Scattered showers
Min: 11 | Max: 16
Rain
Min: 8 | Max: 13
Overcast, rain
Min: 9 | Max: 17
Scattered showers
Min: 9 | Max: 13
Scattered showers
Min: 11 | Max: 16
Rain
Min: 6 | Max: 13
Overcast, rain
Min: 9 | Max: 16
Scattered showers
Min: 10 | Max: 16
Cloudy
Min: 8 | Max: 16
Cloudy
Min: 9 | Max: 18
Cloudy
Min: 9 | Max: 17
Scattered showers
Min: 12 | Max: 15
Overcast, rain
Min: 4 | Max: 12
Rain
Min: 7 | Max: 14
Scattered showers
Min: 11 | Max: 16
Cloudy
Min: 10 | Max: 16
Scattered showers
Min: 12 | Max: 17
Cloudy
Min: 10 | Max: 16
Scattered showers
Min: 12 | Max: 16
BULGARIA IN PICTURES
Which world-famous Bulgarian artist designed QSL cards for Radio Bulgaria?
Yasen Gyuzelev
Theodore Ushev
Christo Javacheff - Christo
Ilia Peikov
Lika Yanko

BULGARIANS ABROAD

Български English Русский Deutsch Српски Français Ελληνικά Español Shqip Türkçe Română
MOST VIEWED

Birth rate in Bulgaria has decreased by 33% since 1994

Birth rate in Bulgaria has decreased by 33% over the past three decades. In 1994, 79,442 live births were registered in the country, while in 2024 the..

published on 11/6/25 5:15 PM

Research ship "Sts. Cyril and Methodius" departs for Antarctica

Research ship "Sts. Cyril and Methodius" has departed from Varna after a solemn ceremony. In its fourth voyage to Antarctica the ship..

published on 11/7/25 3:21 PM

Sales of starter sets with Bulgarian euro coins begin on December 1

Sales of starter sets with euro coins with the Bulgarian national side will begin on December 1, 2025 , the BNB announced. They will be in circulation..

published on 11/7/25 6:10 PM

english@bnr.bg

+359 2 9336 661

Общи условия за използване на сайта | Политика за поверителност | Политика за "бисквитки"