Buchhagen, Germany, April 4, 2025
Photo: YouTube
A peaceful Orthodox monastery in rural Germany has found itself caught in the crossfire of a bitter feud among far-right extremists, leaving its monks living in fear.
Holy Trinity Monastery in Buchhagen, Lower Saxony, which is under the Bulgarian Diocese of Western and Central Europe, became an unexpected focal point of right-wing hostility after a visit by prominent figure Götz Kubitschek and two associates in May 2024, according to a report by local newspaper Täglicher Anzeiger Holzminden early last month.
Bulgarian Orthodox monastery in Germany appeals for urgent support (+VIDEO)After three years of building a new monastery church, the brotherhood of the Holy Trinity Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Buchhagen, Germany, is appealing for urgent support.Kubitschek, who had been a regular visitor to the monastery for 15 years, arrived with Erik Ahrens, a far-right social media strategist, and Jonathan Rudolph, an activist with the Identitarian Movement who works closely with AfD European Parliament member Maximilian Krah.
Abbot Johannes, who founded the monastery in 1990 after laboring in asceticism on Mt. Athos under Elder Joseph of Vatopedi, leads the small community of four monks and one novice, described the meeting as a three-hour visit that included a two-hour religious service followed by discussion. During this conversation, Ahrens reportedly displayed “ultra-right, openly racist and anti-Christian” views and attempted to convince the abbot about the need for a stronger internet presence.
The monastery visit appears to have sparked a falling out between Ahrens and Kubitschek. In February 2025, Ahrens released two videos online that portrayed a distorted image of the monastery, claiming it conducted a “dark underground cave cult” and alleging that Abbot Johannes was the intellectual architect behind Germany’s “New Right” movement.
These videos triggered alarming responses from right-wing extremists. Some commenters expressed willingness to “storm” and “torch” the monastery, with one individual writing, “Erik, say the code word, and we’ll storm the monastery.”
Photo: YouTube
The situation escalated when a television crew appeared unannounced at the monastery. The resulting broadcast juxtaposed footage of violent street clashes and Kubitschek’s gatherings in Schnellroda with drone images of the monastery, suggesting connections between the monastery and right-wing extremism.
“A life’s work dedicated to love of God and neighbor, to beauty, reconciliation, integration, spirit and culture, where people from all over Europe and the USA, from Russia and Ukraine pray together, is deliberately being dragged through the mud,” the monks lamented.
The monastery has filed a police report, and authorities have launched an investigation against a 30-year-old suspect. Meanwhile, the monks have learned that left-wing groups are also mobilizing against them based on the false associations with right-wing extremism.
“In the end, it makes no difference to us whether an attack comes from left-wing or right-wing confused minds,” the resigned monks told reporters.
Abbot Johannes maintains that the monastery doesn’t inquire about the political backgrounds of its visitors. “We don’t ask for a party membership card at the monastery gate. Whoever seeks God, and accepts peace and sanctity, is welcome with us,” he explained.
Kubitschek, who operates the Institute for State Policy in Schnellroda (classified as extremist by German intelligence services) and is considered a mentor to AfD politician Björn Höcke, has not returned to the monastery since the May 2024 visit that sparked the controversy.
More recently, the monastery’s Fr. Lazarus spoke with the Union of Orthodox Journalists about the threats and the monastery’s apolitical nature. He said:
For us, all of this is very distant. The political right-left opposition is not even 180 years old—but Orthodoxy is 2000 years old. We stand on a completely different foundation: that is the Holy Tradition of the Orthodox Church, as I learned it on Mt. Athos. We don't ask anyone about their political opinion; and we don’t exclude anyone. Everyone who respects the peace and sanctity of the place is welcome within our capabilities. In fact, the most diverse people from Germany and abroad come as pilgrims or visitors to the service. Thus, despite the war, Russians and Ukrainians stand together with us before God and pray for peace.
It's a big problem when nationalism or any other ideology becomes idolatry, and this always happens when people don’t know the true faith and live far from God. But whoever follows Christ in spirit and truth will grow in love for God and for their neighbors and will become immune to ideologies.
We’re consecrated to God and live very secluded. Prayer, holy service, building the sanctuary, cultivating Church singing, substantive work, and pastoral care for visitors completely fulfill us. This campaign has created a bogeyman that has nothing to do with the reality of the monastery.
In terms of Church singing, the monastery is known for its own German-language musical style that combines elements of Byzantine and Gregorian chant:
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