They removed Vasian Zmeev as vice-rector of the Moscow Theological Academy after a pedophile scandal
The issue of the expulsion of the clergy from Russia and Belarus and the subsequent closure of the Russian Church is highly politicized, but not from Sofia, but from Moscow. This is what Prof. Kalin Yanakiev said about the show “More of the Day” on BNT.
“In the previous days we witnessed something unheard of. Russian Ambassador Eleonora Mitrofanova, who on the same day she reacted to the expulsion of the Russian citizens-spies, told us that the Russian Orthodox Church was separated from the state, and the next moment, the same day, she as a representative of the Russian state ordered the temple to be locked at her will. Did you know that even if the temple and the land under it are the property of the Russian embassy, if you open the register of the “Religions” directorate of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Bulgaria, you will see that at this address, where the so-called Russian Church is located, there is a church under the jurisdiction of the BOC,” explained Prof. Yanakiev.
He emphasized that those who serve in the “St. Nicholas the Miracle Worker” temple are determined only by the Bulgarian patriarch. “Even if the building is owned by the Russian embassy, the church as a community cannot but be under the jurisdiction of the BOC, because according to the canons of Orthodoxy, there can only be one bishop and one of his deputies in one canonical territory. The bishop of this canonical territory is the Bulgarian patriarch and he can appoint priests. They can be of different nationalities. By goodwill and by tradition, usually a priest of Russian origin is appointed there as head priest,” said the professor.
Kalin Yanakiev commented and called for the DANS report to be published. “It’s better not to do it. Because Vasian Zmeev and his company did not carry out subversive activities in Bulgaria and North Macedonia on their own, and other names involved in espionage may come out.”
According to him, in 2011, the profile of the priests serving in the temple changed sharply. “Until 2011, I myself attended church in this church. Thanks to the predecessor of the expelled Vasian Zmeev – priest Filip Vasiltsev, the Bulgarian priests and over 40 parishioners were also expelled from the church with incredible things”.
Prof. Yanakiev gave an example that when receiving Holy Communion, one of the parishioners heard from priest Filip Vasiltsev the blasphemous words: “God’s servant Traitor is taking communion”. “This same priest had leaked the secret of confession,” Yanakiev reported.
The professor reported that in 2015, Vasian Zmeev was removed from the position of vice-rector of the Moscow Theological Academy and Seminary after a sex and pedophile scandal broke out, after which Vasian Zmeev was quietly sent as the deputy of the Russian patriarch to Belarus.
