Three Creeds Against Religious Education Plan
The Bulgarian Orthodox Church expressed disagreement with the program for religious education in the Bulgarian schools proposed by the Ministry of Education. The opinion of the Orthodox Church was supported by the Bulgarian Catholic Church and the Chief Mufti’s Office. The three institutions insist that instead of studying history of the origin, development, and ideas of the different religions, students should study a religion of their choice.
The clergy proposed that religion classes should be twice a week, from first to 12th grade. The students who do not want to study religion should be able to choose to study ethics instead. The instructors who will teach religion should have either a bachelor’s or a master’s degree in theology or they should have gone through a special training. Read more
4,000 Bulgarians Receive Daily Bible Verse
Over 4,000 Bulgarians worldwide receive daily a Bible verse directly to their cell phones from the Christian mega portal www.bibliata.com. Similar active applications include the English website “Ecclesia”, the Australian Bible Society and the American mFaith and OSministry. The service offered by our website www.bibliata.com was initiated in 2002 and it has remained free of charge for all subscribes since then. The service is offered via the major Bulgarian GSM operators MTel and GloBul. Registration is done online at: sms.bibliata.com. There is also an option to receive the verse via email.
Minstering at Gaffney, SC Again
After much prayer and anticipation, we were again able to hold a series of services in South Carolina. While through its history our ministry has been closely connected to churches in this region of the country, it has been awhile since we have had the opportunity to minister there. The recent services in the State reconnected us with our past history in ministry and reinforced our vision for the future. We are thankful for the given opportunity and the multitude of friends we were able to see once again.
Minstering at Ft. Inn Christian Academy
What an exciting time we had at the Ft. Inn Christian Academy in Greenville, South Carolina. Our visit there was on the spur of the moment upon the invitation of the leadership of the school. Ft. Inn Christian Academy is one of the few Christian schools in the Carolinas associated with the Church of God. It was a thrill to speak with the students who surprised us with their interests in Biblical topics. Usually, when we minister in schools across the country, teenagers would ask about Bulgarian culture, our ministry there and perhaps some curios facts. This was not the case at the Ft. Inn Christian Academy, where the first questions were about the Bible and more specifically the Book of Revelation. We discussed topics of eschatology such as the 70 weeks of Daniel, prophetic signs of the End Times, the spirit of the Antichrist, the mark of the Beast and many others. It is encouraging in this day and time to meet with young people who have such knowledge and interest in the Bible.
Revelation Revival at Newberry, SC
We began 2008 with revival services at the Newberry Church of God in South Carolina. Services were held January 13th -16th. The revival developed the Last Days theme from a Pentecostal perspective with a special focus on the Book of Revelation as follows:
Sunday AM: Seven Churches of Revelation (Part 1)
Sunday PM: Seven Churches of Revelation (Part 2)
Monday: Seven Churches of Revelation (Part 3)
Tuesday: 20 Signs of the Last Days
Wednesday: The Rapture of the Church
Digital Constantinople Bible Published
January 15, 2008 by Cup&Cross
Filed under Publication
In April of 2007, Cup & Cross Ministries along with our Bulgarian partners released a digitized revision of the first Bible in modern Bulgarian vernacular. The initial translation was first published in Constantinople in 1871 to become the leading text of the Bulgarian Renaissance. Unfortunately, 130 years later certain letters from the alphabet have become distinct and the text is hard to read by the common Bulgarian reader. To provide the text in a readable from, a team of 40 people cooperated in a three–year task which was successfully completed in 2006. The final revision was released by Cup & Cross Ministries in April of 2007 and since then has reached thousands of people. We were successful in signing a contract with the Bible Works software developing team, who will include the digital revised text of the Bulgarian Constantinople Bile in the next edition of the software.
Ministering at Chokoloskee, FL Again
It is always a joy to return to Florida and minister at churches who pray for our ministry on a daily basis. We are excited to visit and minister at the Everglades Community Church and the Chokoloskee Church of God and to be reacquainted with people who love us and support us in our ministry efforts. We were glad to deliver an important message on the “Spiritual Authority of Divine Healing,” a theme that the Lord has impressed on us in the past year since the Miracle Healing Revival at High Falls which we held in the winter of 2007. It was a time of homecoming and celebration and we hope to see them soon again with new opportunities to minister.
New Bulgarian Bible Translation Released
January 5, 2008 by Cup&Cross
Filed under Publication
It was a great personal joy and satisfaction to see the results of many years of work come to a reality. On Christmas Day, after a long time of prayer, fasting and translating, we were finally able to release a new Bulgarian translation of the Gospel of John prepared directly and literally from NA 27. It was indeed an indescribable feeling to see the first printed copies being distributed to church bookstores, Bible markets and public libraries as our personal and precious gift for Christmas.
Commentators that were able to review the new translation over the holidays are already calling it a “bold step toward the true meaning of the Bible” and “a revolution in Biblical interpretation.” But for us, it is a fulfillment of a long-lasting dream and the fulfillment of a vision which God has put in our hearts many years ago. After over a decade of studies and preparation, the first fruits of this work is finally an undeniable reality – a text of a new translation which can be put in the hands of people hungry for the Word of God. But this is only the first step, only the beginning of something new which God is doing in Bulgaria in 2008.
2008: The Year of New Things
“And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful”
Revelation 21:5
We are approaching 2008 with great anticipation that God is readying us for a new thing, as we are reminded that our spiritual anticipation has been built since 2005 which we called the Year of the Spirit. Then, 2006 followed as Year of Promises and indeed we all saw promises being fulfilled and visions coming to a definite reality. The very beginning of 2007 came as the Year of Breakthrough, and today we can testify of a Divine Breakthrough in both spiritual and material realms.
Now, God is preparing us for something new in 2008. We are anticipating developments in every area of life and ministry. We believe it and we proclaim it . 2008: Something new is about to happen.
The Season for Giving
In cooperation with various local businesses and partnering churches, Cup and Cross Ministries was able to donate several hundred toys during this Christmas season. We want to especially thank Wildwood Wholesale and the Spartanburg Church of God for there contributions.
In a country of plenty we often take for granted the simple things in life such as the small gift under the tree on Christmas morning. But in a foreign country where most families live in economic hardship with the reality of a past of 45 of years persecution, from the communist regime, in which Christmas was strictly forbidden, this small gift is cherished.
Our team on location was able to personally give out these blessings and transform the faces of many during this Christmas Season. We thank all who were able to participate.
