Metropolitan Kliment of Tarnovo – in the service of God and the Fatherland

In the secular chronicles of post-liberation Bulgaria, Metropolitan Kliment of Tarnovo is known as Vasil Drumev – a notable writer and public figure, he led an exceptionally spiritual, Christian life. For linguists, he is among the brightest zealots of the purity of the Bulgarian language, and for the Bulgarian clergy – an ascetic of the Orthodox faith. His deeds – both in secular and spiritual life – speak eloquently of the mission he carried out in the service of God and the Fatherland. Among the literary heritage he left is the scientific work "The Greco-Roman Laws for Crimes Against the Faith and the Church in the Time of Byzantium", thanks to which he received the degree of "Candidate of Theology" at the Kiev Theological Academy in 1869.

This is the first study of its kind on this topic by a Bulgarian author, points out Hieromonk Gavriil from the Zograf Monastery in the preface to the newly published Bulgarian-language scientific work by Vasil Drumev - Metropolitan Kliment of Tarnovo. ‎

‎"Imagine such a famous Renaissance figure! He defended his written work in Russian and it remains only available in Russian in an edition of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences, which in my opinion is not correct towards the people who want to get acquainted with it", notes Hieromonk Gavriil in a special interview with Radio Bulgaria. "Moreover, since it is fundamental to the life of Metropolitan Kliment, it shows how his views, which are extremely stable, traditional throughout his life, begin to be built. He does not change his worldview depending on which way the wind blows, like some politicians and public figures of that time, to adjust in one way or another. On the contrary, because of these views, defending the faith of his compatriots, he suffered and was sentenced to eternal exile."‎

In his sermon, delivered on February 14, 1893, on the day of Orthodox Sunday, Metropolitan Kliment condemns those who were tempted by wealth and high rank to abandon their father's Orthodox faith. "At that time, in a way that is still incomprehensible today, "Orthodoxy" meant Russia," notes Hieromonk Gabriel and recalls that Kliment of Tarnovo's contemporaries gave him the halo of a Russophile, and an outspoken one. And there is no evidence in his life that he served foreign interests. "We have no right to put a label on such a person, who was good during the time of socialism, but is bad today," emphasizes the monk from Zograf and adds that "the best label is the eagle of holiness, of Christ.

"Saints have no citizenship, they are inhabitants of heaven, and my personal conviction is that Metropolitan Kliment is such an inhabitant of heaven," explains Hieromonk Gabriel and adds that this is also the reason for looking at this work, which embodies principles that Metropolitan Kliment defended throughout his life.

Vasil Drumev (first from the left) with his classmates in Odessa, 1860

"Three directions are noticeable, which are characteristic of his thinking, his consciousness and his life," the monk points out. "These are interests in public life, which are related to history, theology and law. After the Liberation, the grateful citizens of Ruse elected him as a representative of the people (editor's note - in the Constituent National Assembly) and in this way he entered politics. But something else is also significant - he was elected to the Commission for the drafting of the Basic Law. He is the chairman of this commission, which speaks of the enormous authority he has among all the representatives of the people. The fact that he occupies the post of Prime Minister in the interim government in order to reconcile two warring circles at that time - the liberals and the conservatives - shows that he is given great trust by everyone. Yes, Prince Battenberg appointed him, but this decision was accepted by everyone and he was recognized as the Prime Minister."

Despite being aware of his incorruptibility and principledness, the liberals showered him with slander. And when Metropolitan Kliment asked why they were doing it, since they knew that he had not abused anything, the chairman of the National Assembly answered him ironically that "the whole thing is done so one can free the seat and another one can sit on it." According to Hieromonk Gabriel, today is no different and therefore the principles that Kliment of Tarnovo followed in his life must be illuminated.

"The Lord leads every nation and when the nation does not deviate from God, it prospers in both its spiritual and material life. What we are experiencing today is the fruit of our retreat from God and our distancing from the Creator, and only the true freedom of Christ, which Vasil Drumev also preaches, is the freedom we should strive for. Let us seek this freedom so as not to be slaves to passions. And although he lives in a turbulent time, at the end of the 19th century, the time of Bulgaria's Liberation, a time of surging new ideas, it is clear that he breaks all these ideas and looks at them with a Christian perspective that permeates his entire life."