BULGARIA: A Russian defrocked cleric joins the Patriarchate of Constantinople and the Bulgarian Orthodox Church
European Times (22.07.2024) – Meanwhile, according to information on his personal page, the former cleric of the Russian Orthodox Church Peter (Eremeev) became a cleric of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church on May 1, 2024.
Peter (in the world Ruslan Nikolaevich Eremeev; born December 2, 1973, Armavir, Krasnodar Krai) is an Orthodox cleric.
From December 6, 1998 to March 11, 2024 – a cleric of the Russian Orthodox Church.
From April 3, 2024 to April 30, 2024 – a cleric of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
From May 1, 2024 – a cleric of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.
Short bio in Russia
Doctor of Theology (2004).
Rector of the Russian Orthodox University of St. John the Theologian (2010-2021).
Abbot of the Vysoko-Petrovsky Stavropegic Monastery (2013-2021).
Chairman of the Commission for Work with Universities and the Scientific Community under the Diocesan Council of the City of Moscow (2019-2021).
Rector of the Church of the Resurrection of the Word at the Vagankovskoye Cemetery (2013-2023).
Chairman of the Interdepartmental Commission on the Education of Monastics of the Russian Orthodox Church (2016-2024).
Editor-in-chief of the official periodical of the Synodal Department for Monasteries and Monasticism – the magazine “Monastic Herald” (2014-2024).
Ban from priesthood and defrocking in the Moscow Patriarchate
On November 9, 2023, he was dismissed by the patriarch from the post of acting rector of the Church of the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki in the village of Dmitrovskoye, Krasnogorsk District, Moscow Region.
According to the information contained in the appeal of the employees and parishioners of the church in Dmitrovskoye to Patriarch Kirill, the pretext for the removal of the rector was the imitation of the disappearance of icons from the church, organized by Abbess Xenia (Chernega). As a result, Chernega took Yeremeyev’s place.
On December 22 of the same year, during an official business trip to Bulgaria, carried out with the blessing of the Patriarch, he was removed from the post of rector of the Church of the Resurrection of the Word at the Vagankovskoye Cemetery and banned from serving.
Publications about violations in the parishes of the abbot began to appear on the Internet. In May 2024, Peter (Yeremeyev) himself rejected all accusations: “My obligations to the Moscow Diocese were fully fulfilled by the end of 2023. I transferred the affairs of the Church of the Great Martyr Demetrius of Thessaloniki in Dmitrovskoye and the affairs of the newly built church complex on Nikolina Gora, as well as the affairs of the Church of the Resurrection of the Word at the Vagankovskoye Cemetery to the newly appointed rectors. The Audit Commission of the Moscow Diocese conducted an audit of the financial, property and other aspects of the parish activities and drew up the required acts of acceptance and transfer of the churches. There were no comments on the part of the Audit Commission and the new rectors regarding the results of the audit and transfer of cases.”
However, on February 8, 2024, by decision of the diocesan court of the city of Moscow, he was defrocked, citing the fact that Abbot Peter ignored three summonses to court. The decision was to come into force after approval by Patriarch Kirill.
By Decree of Patriarch Kirill No. U-02/39 of March 11, 2024, the court decision came into force. According to the statement of Hegumen Peter (Eremeev): “None of the three indicated summonses to the church court were sent to me: not to my passport registration address, not to my email, not to my public messengers on social networks.”
Having called the decision illegal, he appealed it to the court of the Patriarchate of Constantinople.
In the Bulgarian Orthodox Church
In April 2024, the court of the Patriarchate of Constantinople positively considered the appeal of Hegumen Peter, after which he was accepted into the clergy of the Patriarchate of Constantinople. This did not become known immediately.
On April 20, 2024, he was seen co-serving with the bishops and clergy of the Plovdiv Diocese of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. Among those attending the service were Metropolitan Nikolay (Sevastianov) of Plovdiv, vicar bishops Arseny (Lazarov) and Vissarion (Grivov).
After receiving the letter of release, the abbot was accepted into the staff of the Plovdiv Metropolitanate.
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church, a battlefield between pro-Ukraine and pro-Russia clerics
HRWF – On 30 June, Daniil Vidinsky was appointed as new Patriarch of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. His views on the war in Ukraine have delighted the Kremlin’s allies and dismayed supporters of Ukraine and the West.
The election of a new Patriarch was called after the death in March of Patriarch Neophyte who, in contrast, expressed regular support for Ukraine. During the ‘election campaign’, Moscow increased pressure to ensure the election of a patriarch who will protect Russian interests.
In November 2022, as Bishop of Vidin, Daniil issued a statement to local priests comparing the 2014 pro-Western Euromaidan protests in Ukraine with Russia’s invasion of Ukraine as equally ‘disturbing’ events.
Daniil has also been critical of Bulgarian Orthodox Church leaders for warming ties with the Orthodox Church of Ukraine (OCU) created under the presidency of Petro Poroshenko which was granted autocephaly by the Ecumenical of Constantinople on 6 January 2019.
In September 2023, Daniil also opposed the expulsion of local clerics alleged to be Russian spies.
The enthronement ceremony of the new patriarch was attended by numerous politicians, including President Rumen Radev, who is known to be often soft on the Kremlin and against further aid to Ukraine, as well as Russia’s ambassador Eleonora Mitrofanova, who made a rare public appearance. Pro-Russian nationalist parties such as Revival and political newcomer Greatness issued enthusiastic statements.
As expected, Patriarch Kirill of Moscow also welcomed Daniil’s ascent.
A Bulgarian Church Archimandrite, Nicanor, said that he would resign in protest against the election of Patriarch Daniil and on his social media described the election as done “by the KGB’s rulebook”.
“His moral positions, by which he practically justifies Russian aggression in Ukraine, for me exceed the boundaries of modern human ethics,” he said.