Dynamics of the Communist Repressions against the Church after the Coup of Spetember 9th 1944

Abstract

The article examines the relationship between the Communist regime in Bulgaria and the Bulgarian Orthodox Church following the coup of September 9, 1944. It highlights the repressive policies of the Communist government toward the Church, which aimed to subordinate and marginalize religion in public life. The measures employed by the Communists, directly borrowed from Russia, included the killing of priests, as well as physical and psychological repression and terror. In addition to these acts of terror, the government also implemented purely administrative measures that “legally” obstructed the normal functioning of the Church and its spiritual life.