Pacifism as a Social Stand for Holiness among Early Bulgarian Pentecostals
Historical and Doctrinal Formation of Holiness Teachings and Praxis among Bulgarian Pentecostals (Research presentation prepared for the Society of Pentecostal Studies, Seattle, 2013 – Lakeland, 2015, thesis in partial fulfillment of the degree of D. Phil., Trinity College)
When Pentecostalism began to spread rapidly in Bulgaria in the 1920s, it was viewed hostile as by both Protestant and Orthodox traditions. Not fasting during lent and not sacrificing for the dead, not honoring Mary or the saints was all detrimental in the formation of the identity of Pentecostal churches in Bulgaria. Even insignificant things like not wearing a cross, or not making the sign of the cross and not lighting candles and incense were noticed and severely criticized by the surrounding culture. And of course not drinking alcohol in Bulgaria and the Pentecostal abstinence was met with enormous opposition from other religious groups. Along with that any benevolence, social involvement, spiritual upbringing of minors (including sport actives) was all condemned as harmful protestant propaganda.
But one specific evangelical stand could never be forgiven – the protestant pacifism in the form of conscientious objection against carrying arms. For the newly re-born Balkan state, in a place where war has been ongoing for centuries, to refusal to go to war was essentially to refuse to be a Bulgarian.
The pacifism of Bulgaria’s evangelicals was silent but powerful against both Hitler’s fascism and the militant atheism of the coming Communist Regime. Their deep Christian conviction simply did not allow them to kill, carry a weapon, imprison another human being, swear allegiance to the communist state or take orders from another authority but God. And for their stand, many ministers and believers paid a heavy price. About 40 ministers and members of the Bulgarian Church of God alone were sentenced to hard prison labor for noncompliance with the mandatory military service. Hundreds more known and unknown believers from other evangelical churches followed.
Scroll Signing Service in Sliven
25 years after the Fall of the Berlin Wall, people in Eastern Europe are still haunted by the spirit of communism. The Regime robbed them not only from happiness and freedom, but from their deep human ability to even imagine a better and free world. For this very reason, we wrote the book “Looking over the Wall” as our prayer for a new prophetic re-imagination of the present reality. After laboring in Bulgaria for over 25 years, in 2014, we were thrilled to minister to churches and people that are dreaming and re-imagining God’s purpose for Bulgaria along with us. Join us in re-imagining imagination anew:
1. Purchase the book from Amazon
2. Read it with your church family
3. Help us pray for a renewal of a new prophetic re-imagination in the minds and hearts of the people in Bulgaria and Eastern Europe
Revival Harvest Campaign 2014 in Plovdiv
Bulgaria Holds Early Parliamentary Elections
Bulgaria will hold its early parliamentary elections on October 5, 2014. The elections come after much political tension, over a year of constant protests, and a deepening economic crisis expressed most recently in a collapse within the bank sector and a 10% increase of the prices of electricity.
The GERB right-centrists political party is expected to win, but if it will take enough seats in the Bulgarian parliament to form its own government is yet to be seen. Meanwhile, on its resent tour its representatives boldly proclaimed they will not seek coalition with any other political forces namely the leftist Socialist party and the ethnic fractions representing Turkish and other minorities in Bulgaria.
Contrary to this in a recent interview for Routers, GERB’s top leader expressed readiness to collaborate with various political forces including the socialists. Some political parties are also reaching for votes among Bulgarian evangelicals in order to gain momentum in the elections. Evangelicals are not represented by their own party in the current elections, although some Roma evangelical churches are said to have formed a small ethnic political party to reach a better representation.
HISTORY of EVENTS:
Back to Church Sunday 2014
Doing Missions in the Spirit
X Youth Event Reunion
X 7.7.7 @ Black Sea https://cupandcross.com/x-youth-event-at-the-black-sea-2/
X 8.8.8 @ the Heart of Bulgaria https://cupandcross.com/x-2008-in-the-heart-of-bulgaria-a-new-level-of-ministry/
X 9.9.9 @ Gipsy Ghetto of Samokov https://cupandcross.com/2009-x-event-transforming-the-status-quo-2/
X 10.10.10 @ Cyprus https://cupandcross.com/x-10-10-10-cyprus-reflection/
X 11.11.11 @ Chicago https://cupandcross.com/x-11-11-11-youth-event-afterglow/
X 12.12.12 @ End Time Revival https://cupandcross.com/12-12-12-revival-at-the-end-of-the-world/
Revelation at River Hills
San Francisco Springs: A Story of Two Churches
Several years ago, while visiting San Francisco on our way to preach at the Bulgarian church in Las Vegas, we were completing our research on Ivan Voronaev’s biography at Berkeley, who studied there after his arrival to the States in the 1912.
While there, we decided to call a high school friend who lives and works in the area. He had moved to the States in 1998 while I was working in D.C. We tried to keep in touch since then, but I had not seen him for years. And with all our travels it had never worked out to cross paths.
So early one morning that same week, we were having coffee at Starbucks near San Rafael. He shared some of his experience as an immigrant, about his family spread thin between here and Bulgaria and about his brother who had just moved for work to Phoenix.
I’ve already written about these events with more detail in “Finding Friends in Phoenix or the Story of an Arizona State Quarter”. In short, this is how the idea for twin Bulgarian churches in San Francisco and Phoenix was born in the spring of 2009.
Today, when this dream of two churches is so close to become a reality, I look at this rather incidental and spontaneous meeting and wonder. If God can bring two old friends to start two new churches, what else does He have stored for us in the future?
Prayer and Fasting for Bulgaria
![Fasting[1]](https://cupandcross.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Fasting1.jpg)
Upon Bulgaria’s national holiday (March 3rd), we have called for a 3-day prayer and fasting through our churches in Bulgaria for the following needs:
1. National repentance and God’s favor over our nation
2. Political stability in response to the ongoing almost 300-day protest against the current government formation
3. Blessing in place of the increasing economical crises through the eastern countries of the European Union
4. Peace over the increasing military tension in the Black Sea region
5. Complete stop of human trafficking through out the Balkans
