A majority of the senior clergy at the Bulgarian Orthodox Church worked for the communist-era State Security, the Bulgarian commission responsible for naming collaborators announced on Tuesday.
The Files commission identified 11 out of 15 members of the church’s governing body, the Holy Synod, as having collaborated with the State Security’s 6th directorate in charge of “fighting political diversion”. Patriarch Maxim, the church’s spiritual leader for over 40 years, was not among them but a number of other prominent metropolitans (bishops heading ecclesiastical provinces) were identified as agents.
Senior Roman Catholic clergy and Muslim leaders were also named by the commission.
The announcement comes as the Bulgarian Orthodox Church is embroiled in a number of controversies over allegations that it owes large sums in unpaid social-security contributions and that most of its clergy is paid minimum wage without labour contracts, in violation of the Labour Code.
The commission, whose blacklist already features outgoing President Georgi Parvanov along with prominent members of the judiciary, parliament and the diplomatic corps, said it is continuing its investigations.
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