[ZesePreodaNed]

Support for Bulgarian Christians

On the first anniversary of the police crackdown on Christians in Bulgaria, the Evangelical Alliance in the UK is calling on the Bulgarian government to end its repression of the Church.

On 21 June 2004 the Bulgarian police invaded 170 churches and monasteries and violently removed their priests. The action was in response to their failure to recognise Patriarch Maxim, whom they claim was installed by the Bulgarian Communist Party.

Speaking ahead of this week's rally to commemorate the crackdown in Sofia, Dr Don Horrocks, head of public affairs at the Evangelical Alliance UK, said: "The situation in Bulgaria is appalling. The authorities have no legal grounds to formally recognise Maxim as a patriarch but they do so for their own ends. Repression of any kind must be firmly rejected; it has already led to the loss of life. The actions of the Bulgarian Government highlight the need for the European courts to step in and deal with this situation as soon as possible."

Campaigners have turned to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg.

Currently, those priests banned from their churches have been carrying out official and spiritual duties to their congregations outdoors, often in harsh conditions.

Julia Doxat-Purser, from the European Evangelical Alliance, said: "It is tragic to see the Orthodox Church paralysed in this way. It is unbelievable that the Bulgarian government allowed itself to get involved by sending in the police to violently break up worship services and evict the priests. We call on the European Union to challenge the Bulgarian authorities."

Orthodox believers and clergy will be gathering in the centre of Sofia on 21 July to remember the violent actions of a year ago.

THEGOODNEWS Tuesday 19 July 2005