Bulgaria: The Russian Embassy has a Property Deed of the Russian Church in Sofia

The Russian Embassy in Bulgaria has a property deed of the Russian Church - this confirmed the verification of the Registration Agency. The notary confessed to he transaction in 1997, according to Lovech Metropolitan Gavriil. Metropolitan Gavriil added that neither the Sofia Metropolitanate nor the Holy Synod owns such property. The prime minister said that SANS was slow with the report on the expelled Russian priests.

On July 27, 1997, a notarial deed of ownership of real estate acquired by land donation, church construction and legal succession was entered by the Russian Imperial Diplomatic Agency of the Embassy of the Russian Federation, the Agency said. The deed was drawn up by notary Ivan Dakhterov after attached written evidence, with the Embassy of the Russian Federation recognized as the owner.

"The property is owned by the embassy of the Russian Federation at the moment. There was a hesitation whether I should recognize as the owner Russia as a country or the embassy. But since the deed was issued to the embassy of tsarist Russia, it was therefore re-issued to the embassy," said Ivan Dakhterov, a notary.

Lovech Metropolitan Gavriil also confirmed that the Russian Church is the property of the Russian Embassy:

"There is no doubt that the property of the Russian Church belongs to Russia, it was built first by Russia, with the money of Russia, and in 1997 they got a new notary deed based on all these documents that they have, so there can be no doubt about that. Besides, I was 10 years in the Sofia Metropolitan, now I am in the Holy Synod, the chairman of the Supreme Church Council, which deals with the properties of the Holy Synod, I must say that such property of the Russian Church is not accounted in the Sofia...