A Tennessee student who had gender reassignment surgery when his parents were out of the country was expelled from his religious private school.

Yanna Awtrey, 21, who was born female but now identities as male, was a student at Welch College, a four-year Free Will Baptist school in Nashville. However just hours after undergoing top surgery to remove his breast tissue in early August, he received an email informing him he had been expelled from both his dorm and education.

'I received a message from Welch College that stated they would be kicking me out effective immediately due to that fact I am openly transgender and having top surgery,' he revealed on Facebook.

Post recovery: Yanna Awtrey was expelled from his Christian college after the school learned he had undergone top surgery, a procedure to remove the breasts. He is pictured in recovery

Yanna was raised by a Bulgarian mother and California-born father, both missionaries whom are currently in Bulgaria trying to spread the word of the Free Will Baptist church.

He first heard the word transgender, and learnt what it meant, when he was 15, and he says this led to him experiencing gender dysphoria - a condition where a person experiences discomfort or distress because there is a mismatch between their biological sex and their identity.

Yanna realized that he identified as a male, and earlier this year, he began hormone replacement therapy ahead of his surgery on August 2.

As individuals who are under going top surgery cannot be alone after the procedure, Yanna asked a couple who are friends with his parents if he could stay with them - and according to BuzzFeed, on the day of the procedure, he left a note informing them he was getting an unspecified surgery.

However, the couple found out about the procedure Yanna had undergone, and told him he could no longer stay with them.

The physical pain right now is nothing compared to witnessing a lack of empathy for our fellow man

'I woke up from top surgery... and I cried from happiness to the point where my nurse told me to be quieter for the other patients' sake,' he recalled in a post on Facebook.

'An hour later, an older couple that was supposed to house me came in and told me they do not want me in their house due to the type of surgery I did not initially specify.'

While he was in the operating room, that same couple called Welch College and Yanna's parents to inform them what surgery he was undergoing - prompting the strict religious school to expel him.

Mere hours into recovery, Yanna received an email from the school's Vice President for Student Services, Jon Forlines, telling him he was not welcome back.

'I received a message from Welch College that stated they would be kicking me out effective immediately due to that fact I am openly transgender and having top surgery... It's the best and worst day of my life.

'I'd do this surgery again if I could. I'm going to do what I can to get back on my feet. The physical pain right now is nothing compared to witnessing a lack of empathy for our fellow man. I don't understand other people's cruelty,' the post continued.

Yanna's post addressed the discrimination that religious LGBT+ people endure.

'It's strange, how the simple act of my existence constitutes as a rebellious act against God and his creation.

Gender dysphoria: Yanna, now 21, made the decision to have top surgery after beginning hormone replacement therapy this year

'My "perverse" inclinations and developmental incongruence are seen to be an act of moral ineptitude made to be pitied, mocked, and/or cured. Yet, I am simply being. I am simply continuing my existence, never thinking in my youth that I, my Self, to be seen as a result of the largest sin of man,' the post read.

Yanna added that he hopes 'God will show the right path'.

Thankfully Yanna had someone to turn to after the surgery; he had made a friend through a local trans support group, who stepped in to assist in the aftermath of the procedure - however discovering that he had been kicked out of his college left Yanna with nowhere else to turn.

'I didn't have anyone else to help me. My driver, a trans acquaintance I barely knew, kindly took me in until I was able to drive back to my college, which I thought I would be staying at afterward.'

Yanna confirmed on August 3 in a lengthy post on social media that he is 'now homeless and unable to work for a few months... with the payment for my surgery keeping me in the financial red'.

An edit to the post confirmed that on August 5, Welch College had reached out to provide a hotel room and food money for a week. Yanna told BuzzFeed that the school insisted this edit be added to the post or else they would rescind the offer of the hotel.

He told BuzzFeed that the school instructed him that he could collect his items from the dorm, after he sought permission.

'We're praying for you that the love of Christ will speak to your every need in the coming days,' the email concluded.

In a statement to BuzzFeed, Welch College said that while it would not comment specifically on Yanna's individual case, it had a clear stance on transgender students.

My "perverse" inclinations is seen to be an act of moral ineptitude made to be pitied, mocked, or cured

The statement reads, 'The College holds that God created humanity in two distinct and complementary sexes: male and female. The College acknowledges that the Fall of humanity into sin has introduced brokenness into God's good creation, including in the realm of human sexuality.'

'Welch College believes that individuals experiencing such confusion - and the distress that usually accompanies it - should be treated with love and compassion. The College also believes that attempting to alter one's bodily identity constitutes a rejection of God's design for humanity.'

He added that all students are informed of the school's beliefs.

'We will continue to pray for all people experiencing gender confusion while also honoring the values of this institution and its sponsoring denomination, which are shared by the Christian tradition over two millennia,' Welch College's president Matt Pinson told the outlet.

The school has since made its Facebook and Instagram accounts private.

Yanna will reportedly travel to North Carolina to stay with friends for the remainder of his recovery.

On the day Yanna shared his lengthy Facebook post, his mother shared a photo which read 'and if not, he is still good - daniel 3:18' underneath which numerous Facebook commentors said that they were 'praying for the family'.

The Bulgarian-based mom-of-two also shared a link from DesiringGod.org titled, 'Why do we suffer so much?'

A Twitter user confirmed that Brave Commons, a Chicago-based organization seeking to elevate the voices of LGBTQ+ students within Christian universities, had gotten in touch with Yanna to provide support.

According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, the goal of transmasculine top surgery is to 'remove the breast tissue (mastectomy) from both breasts and create a masculine appearance to the chest.'

It is recommended to abstain from any physical exertion for three weeks.