"... The principle of racialism which is the basic idea on which the above mentioned law is founded, has no justification from the point of view of the teachings of Jesus... The principle of racialism which encourages persecution and denies the rights of people, merely because of their race, in this case the Jewish race, has no justification, and therefore one cannot base the 'Law for the Protection of the Nation' on the principle of racialism. One cannot turn the 'Law for the Protection of the Nation' into a means of oppression and persecution of the Jewish minority in the land." [415] On September 9, 1942, the Metropolitan of Sofia, Stephan, preached a sermon, probably in preparation of the "Feast of the Exaltation of the Honourable and Life-giving Cross". This feast of the Orthodox Church falls on September 14. The Metropolitan declared that: "... God had punished the Jews for the crucifixion of Jesus in that He had expelled them from their country and had not given them a country of their own. And thus, God had determined the destiny of the Jews. <182> However, men had no right to exercise cruelty towards the Jews and to persecute them. Especially Christians ought to see their brothers in Jews who had accepted the Christian religion and to support them in every possible way. He stressed several times in his sermon that truly it is in God's hands to punish twice and three times, but it is forbidden for Christians to do such a thing." [416] Apparently there existed a brand of "theological" anti-Semitism in the Church of Bulgaria. Fortunately, it is difficult to state that "God had punished the Jews ... and had not given them a country of their own", since, in 1948, the State of Israel came into being. Perhaps we may consider it an encouraging fact that people who held such views of "theological" anti-Semitism, nevertheless have such an excellent record when practical help to the persecuted was proved necessary. This consideration, however, should not be used to exempt Church leaders from their duty to educate the faithful in a more Biblical and thus more humane spirit than that of Metropolitan Stephan's sermon, in 1942. b. The Attempt to Deport the Jews In January, 1943, Eichmann's representative Dannecker arrived in Bulgaria. On February 22, 1943, he concluded a written agreement with the Bulgarian Commissioner for Jewish Affairs, Belev, which provided for the deportation of 8,000 Jews from Macedonia, 6,000 from Thrace and 6,000 from Old Bulgaria. In March, deportations from the occupied Greek and Yugoslavian territories started. 11,363 Jews were deported from these regions. [417] There were personal interventions by Church leaders, and an official Protest from the Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church was issued, on behalf of the Bulgarian Jews who were threatened with deportation. <183> Abraham Alphasy, who was then Head of the Jewish Community of Sofia, relates: