5.E.1.6

“Nikola Vaptsarov” Foreign Language High School, Shumen, Bulgaria

 

DIFFERENT WAYS OF EXPRESSING FREEDOM OF CONSCIENCE AND RELIGION -

national facts

 

The Church

 

The freedom of thought, conscience or notions is the freedom of the individual to accept a fact, a viewpoint independently from other viewpoints. It is closely bound to the idea of freedom of expression. The denial of freedom of conscience is equal to the denial of the human right to think independently.

The whole concept of freedom of thought is based on the human right to believe in what they want and what they find good for them (the freedom of religion).

Since 19^th century the dominant religion in Bulgaria has been East Orthodoxy. But what happened in the middle of 20^th century.

On 30^th September 1944 in Bulgaria was issued “Decree on judging culprits of the People’s Court.” It was approved on 4^th October 1944.

The law laid the beginnings of mass repressions against Bulgarian politicians, intellectuals and clergy. According to the data 11 000 people were sentenced under that law. Among them was Dimitar Peshev – the rescue of Bulgarian Jews from the Nazi camps. Some of the sentenced people were killed earlier so they legalized the murders already done.

For comparison 12 people were sentenced at Nuremberg Trial.

The Decree initially affected more than 150 clergymen in the country. A lot of clergymen with their families were deported, others sent to labour camps, and hundreds were in the investigation departments of the Police.

The firs step was prohibition of Religion. Immediately after 09 September 1994 the Ministry of public education removed Religion from the curriculum as well as prayers before and after the Religion lesson. Religion was only an optional subject. “Religion is incompatible with science. Religion is private for each citizen. The school building cannot be used for teaching religion.”

The campaign against the Bulgarian Orthodox Church was increasing gradually. It was reached a decision the seminary to be moved to the town of Chirpan, Vratsa district. The faculty of theology at Sofia University was closed. During World War II the two seminaries were evacuated because of bomb attack. The one in Sofia was moved to the town of Gabrovo, the one Plovdiv – to Bachkovo Monastery. The school year 1994/1995 was the brink of ruin, there were no classrooms, there stayed Soviet military liberators and the rector of Sofia ecclesiastical seminary, Archimandrite Nikolai was in the cells of the State Prison. He was sent to the People’s Court because of his participation in the international commission on finding the truth about killed officers in the village of Katin in 1941. In a letter on behalf of the government Vasil Kolarov insisted the building and the equipment of Sofia ecclesiastical to be given to the newly established pioneer organization “Septemwriyche”. The Holy Synod stood firm but the government imposed and the building was turned into a “Young Pioneer Palace”.

To put an end to those arbitrary acts, Metropolitan Stefan wrote a letter to the Minister of Internal Affairs, Anton Yugov. Soon after the letter the coadjutor of Sofia metropolis, Archimandrite Irinei was killed. Metropolitan Boris was shot with five bullets from a carbine.

The murderer was caught and sentenced but in a few months was released. He occupied a number of important political and state positions. According to Bulgarian historiography there were three main attacks against the Bulgarian Orthodox Church for the period of 9 September 1944 – 1953. 152 Orthodox priests and clergymen were sentenced – 13 to death and 13 to life imprisonment. 45 priests were arrested without an order and 25 were missing. Only four of them were proved to have been killed after severe torture.

The second wave is during the so called Cold War. It started with the arresting of the abbot of Rila Monastery, Archimandrite Kalistrat and the alleged coup against Exarch Stefan in 1948. At that time was established Department of Ecclesiastical Matters whose director deprived the functions from the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. The authorities wanted to define and correct the acts of the Church and its policy. They wanted to appoint bishops and priests who pleased the ruling political parties. Many clergymen were deported and those at liberty remained without salaries and pensions. The slogan of the ruling authorities is: “PRIESTS MUST STOP MISLEADING. LET’S KILL THE PRIESTS”.

In the records from 1958 we can find the following:

“Orthodox priests, sentenced by the People’s Court at the moment – 97. One dead, 13 sentenced to death. There were 12 priests in prison at the end of 1957. Priests released – 71. 21 of them sent back to prison. 19 sent to labour schools.”

“At that time in the country there were 2950 Orthodox churches serviced by 2280 priests. The monasteries were 246, only 87 of them active with 350 monks and nuns. In comparison with 1954 we can notice that Bulgaria lost 555 priests.”

Thus the belief in God acquired political nuance. But the political nuance led to the narrowing of the totalitarian concept of the mother-state. That concept - “the state above all” was at the base of the Bulgarian and totalitarian political philosophy for 45 years.

The deep tradition of not considering human freedom – the freedom of believing in God and worshiping without external interference soon won’t be interrupted on the territory of the Bulgarian State.

 

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