Execution
The MO management assigned one of its groups to the task, led by Petar Abadzhiev, who himself recruited the sexton, Petar Zadgorski. With his help, Abadzhiev and Asen Pavlov carried in a total of 25 kg of explosives to the attic of St Nedelya Church over the course of a couple of weeks. The explosives were mounted in a package above one of the columns of the main dome, situated by the south entrance to the building. The plan was to detonate them by a 15 m-long cord that would allow the assailants a chance to escape.
Due to the strengthened guard of Vladimir Nachev's funeral service, the MO chose another victim whose funeral would be used as bait for the assault. At 8 pm on 14 April General Konstantin Georgiev, a deputy of the ruling Democratic Accord, was assassinated by Atanas Todovichin in front of a Sofia church while heading there for the evening service with his granddaughter.
The funeral service of General Georgiev was set for 16 April, Holy Thursday. In order to increase the toll, the organizers sent forged invitations on behalf of the Association of Reserve Officers. At 7 am on the 16th, Zadgorski led Nikola Petrov to the roof, where Petrov would detonate the bomb on Zadgorski's signal. The funeral procession entered the church at 3 pm that afternoon. The service was conducted by Bishop Stefan, future Bulgarian Exarch. The coffin was initially placed right next to the column that was to be blown up, but then moved forward due to the large number of people that came to attend the ceremony.
In accordance with the MO group's plan, when the people had gathered and the service began, Zadgorski gave Nikola Petrov a sign to detonate, after which the two left the building at around 3:20. The explosion demolished the main dome of the church, burying many people inside. The blast indoors caused further damage.
Read more about this topic: St Nedelya Church Assault
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