CIA Report: STATUS OF THE PROTESTANTS IN BULGARIA

https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/document/cia-rdp82-00457r006100810004-5

STATUS OF THE PROTESTANTS IN BULGARIA

Document Type:

CREST

Collection:

General CIA Records

Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST):

CIA-RDP82-00457R006100810004-5

Release Decision:

RIPPUB

Original Classification:

S

Document Page Count:

2

Document Creation Date:

December 14, 2016

Document Release Date:

March 23, 2001

Sequence Number:

4

Case Number:

Publication Date:

November 3, 1950

Content Type:

REPORT

File:

Attachment	Size
CIA-RDP82-00457R006100810004-5.pdf	134.43 KB

Body:

st;~~1~ d E a _ . ~ : 3 4`ii152’S U 0’1` Approved For ReleaJ~40j~11,L dR~l8F0061 ~01 CODUNTP i SUBJECT Bulgaria Status of the Protestants in Bulgaria 25X1A CD NO. 25X1A I NO., CASE DISTR.. 3 1T()V 50 NO, OF PAGES 2 NO. OF ENCLS. (LISTED BELOW SUPPLEMENT TO REPORT NO. 25X1X 1,, For a short time after 9 September 1944 the Protestants in Bulgaria enjoyed religious freedom. Belief in God, though rejected by Communism was tolerated in the country. In 1948 the Congregational Church services were regularly attended by an increased number of people. This was also true of other denominations,, 2,, After the trial of the 15 pastors early in 1949,,.# Protestants were labeled traitors,. spies, and instruments of the western capitalists. Much publicity was given by the Government accusing the Protestants of betraying their country. 3. Following the trial many churches remained without pastors. In some places laymen started preaching. In other places churches were closed by the local authorities and services forbidden. Source has been told that the Church of Mericr,lery is now being used for a Communist Party club, Many people were frightened and preferred not to go to church. There were instances when -people were warned not to go to church. Comparing the Sofia cI’-urches and those in the provinces,, the province churches suffered more losses of pastors and laymen. The Government authorities can exercise greater supervision and pressure in smaller communities, The Protestants in Sofia, therefore, enjoyed greater freedom in that no church was officially closed and people were free to go to church. 4. In November 1948 the editor of the only Protestant newspaper Zornitza was arrested and as of August 1950 was still in a labor camp without having been tried by a court or officially sentenced. 5. A printing house has just recently been taken over for use by the Committee for sciences Art,, and Culture,, 6, Following the trial of the pastors, many other Protestants were detained for a certain period of time by the militia authorities and others are still In labor carps. Many of the most ardent members of the Methodist Church in Sofia are either imprisoned or in labor camps, and their families have been ordered to leave Sofia, CLASSIFICATION 9PCffT/C0TZ-TR0L STATE NAVY NSRB DISTRIBUTION ARf`; ~~ Ain FBI Approved For Release 2001/04/13 : CIA-RDP82-00457R006100810004-5  Approved For Release 2001/04/13 : CIA-RDP82-00457R006100810004-5 8T/CONTROL – U. S. OFFICIALS ONLY CEP

• Printer-friendly version

3 Decades Later: Evangelical Education in Bulgaria at Halt

With the new Bill on Religion in Bulgaria, the Muslim community has been given amnesty on some $4,500,000 of public debt, while granted another $3 million in annual government subsidies. As a result, the monthly salary of Muslim clergy (imams) has already increased with 20% and a new Islamic school is being opened in one of the historically oldest Christian places in Bulgaria, the city of Sliven. All while, the evangelical protestant communities are not receiving financial support under the new law and their schools remain without proper government legalization via the Bulgarian Ministry of Education. 

Though this legal precedent follows the Russian Law on Religion that has already effectively closed the evangelical seminaries in Moscow, it is manifesting a political agenda undergoing in Bulgaria for over a decade. What remains unsaid with the recent changes in the Law of Religion in Bulgaria is the ultimate halt of evangelical education in the country. The Bulgarian Evangelical Theological Institute has been functioning at its operational minimum for years now. Students are trained mainly online or via small local groups spread in various cities. They are called to the school departments only for graduation or occasionally lectures by visiting scholars. Even after years of waiting, the Institute was never granted official accreditation through Bulgaria’s Ministry of Education and most of the students preferred getting their degrees from other accredited and licensed institutions. Less than 1% of the students who were not in ministry at the time of their enrollment entered the ministry post graduation. And even fewer of them remain in ministry today; which ultimately ensures the lack of adequately trained ministers for placement in the evangelical churches of Bulgaria.

The last Bulgarian to graduate from the Church of God Theological Seminary did so over a decade ago, and 2009 was the last class of the Bulgarian Theological College (seminary). One of the greatest mistakes made was closing the college in 2009, thus leaving the movement with virtually no higher ministry training for the last decade.

We were present at the national meeting of elders on September 10, 2009 in Sofia when the final decision to close the Church of God Theological College was voted. Only a few others along with us disagreed with the vote and pleaded with the assembly to make everything possible and keep the school open. At the final vote, it came down to a few thousand dollars due in annual membership fees and the school was closed.

Five years prior to these events in 2004, we published an article on evangelical education in Bulgaria with some warnings. The article proposed a change of the evangelical educational paradigm in anticipation of new legal changes and the prolonged waiting for a governmental accreditation. In fact, the same issues addressed in our proposal repeated themselves in 2016 upon Russia changing its own legislation on religion and religious education thus effectively illegalizing evangelical seminaries and overall missionary work. Today, similar legal measures are put in place by the Bulgarian government as well.

The final of our 10-point proposed plan in 2004 included the following observation:

10. Naturally, the well-educated graduates have chosen not to occupy themselves with denominational politics both to avoid confrontation and to express their disagreement. This dynamic has been partially ignored by leadership remaining from the period of the underground church when religious education was virtually nonexistent and lacking a complete realization of the power of education. This unnoticed trend, however, endangers Bulgarian Evangelism creating a lack of continuity within the leadership and preparing the context for the emerging leadership crises.                                                                                                                              

With the new Bill on Religion in Bulgaria closely following the effective closure of evangelical seminaries in Moscow, the opportunity for a government recognized ministerial training in Bulgaria may be legally impossible to regain. In the light of those resent changes, our 2004 proposal for a legal ministry training alternative was successfully implemented and used for our Master of Chaplaincy Ministry graduates since 2009 providing a single valid alternative for evangelical education in Bulgaria.

First Day of School in Bulgaria

A Call to Righteousness over Bulgaria

Wild Fire Inferno over Bulgaria

Bulgaria Sets October 20th for 7th Early Parliamentarian Elections in 3 Years

President Rumen Radev has appointed Goritsa Grancharova-Kozhareva as the new acting Prime Minister and expects her to propose a caretaker government by August 19. During a meeting at the presidential residence on Dondukov 2, Radev outlined the timeline and expectations for the formation of the new government.

Radev indicated that while the Constitution does not specify a strict deadline, October 20 is considered the most suitable date for the upcoming early parliamentary elections. He instructed Grancharova-Kozhareva to present a proposed government structure and composition by August 19 to ensure compliance with legal requirements.

Government Elections in Bulgaria (2005-2024):

2005 Parliamentary Elections
2006 Presidential Elections
2007 Municipal Elections
2009 Parliamentary Elections
2009 European Parliament elections
2011 Presidential Elections
2011 Local Elections
2013 Early parliamentary elections
2014 Early Parliamentary Elections
2015 Municipal Elections
2016 Presidential election
2017 Parliamentary elections
2019 European Parliament election (23-26 May)
2019 Bulgarian local elections
2019 Municipal Elections
2021 April National Parliament election
2021 Second National Parliament election
2021 Third National Parliament and Presidential elections
2022 October elections for 48th National Assembly after the fall of a four-party coalition in June 2022.
2023 Bulgarian parliamentary election
2023 Second Bulgarian parliamentary election for the year
2024 Bulgarian parliamentary election
2024 Second Bulgarian parliamentary election for the year

Bulgaria prohibits propaganda for non-traditional sexual orientation in schools

After more than 4 hours of debate and violent scandals, Bulgaria’s Parliament on August 7 voted to adopt law changes which prohibit propaganda for non-traditional sexual orientation in schools. The proposal for changes to the Law for Pre-School and School Education was tabled by “Vazrazhdane” party. The changes prohibit “propaganda, promotion and encouragement, directly or indirectly, of ideas and views connected to non-traditional sexual orientation or to definition of gender identity different from the biological”. The changes to the law were supported at first and second reading by GERB-UDF, Vazrazhdane, Movement for Rights and Freedoms (MRF), There is Such a People, BSP for Bulgaria. Some 20 MPs from “We Continue the Change-Democratic Bulgaria” and 2 MPs from GERB-UDF voted against. Ten MPs from WCC-DB and three from GERB-UDF abstained. Here is part of the debate in the chamber: Kostadin Kostadinov – “Vazrazhdane”. We have a problem and it is a big problem. Now we are going to nip it in the bud so that no one, no way, can ever try to do what they do to children in other countries because it is not humane and it is anti-human to promote non-traditional sex education in schools. It is an anti-human ideology. And with this little text in the law we will bury and nip this ideology in the bud.

Yavor Bozhankov, WE Continue the Change – Democratic Bulgaria: “This bill you are proposing is nothing but pre-electoral populism, ugly homophobia and ugly division in society. Our Parliamentary Group will remain a defender of the parliamentary practice that bills should not be passed in this way. Do not fall victim to the pro-Russian “Vazrazhdane”.

Yordan Tsonev, MRF: “The MRF parliamentary group will support the proposed bill. This is an important part of children’s education and we cannot remain indifferent on this topic. The biggest reason to support it is that a large part of the Bulgarian people share this opinion about the education of our children. We share the motives of those who tabled the proposed change, which is also based on a text from the Constitution, which says that marriage is a voluntary union between a man and a woman. I want to address something else.

Traditional religions are conservative on this topic, because the foundations of the human species are based on the family, marriage between a man and a woman and the continuation of the human species are based on that. And to be clear, there is no place for this type of education in our schools and it has nothing to do with tolerance of the different. Children are something else. They should be left to develop according to God’s laws.”

Bulgaria: Another Expert Cabinet, Sets GERB Dominance

Boyko Borissov announced that GERB will begin negotiations for an expert cabinet and majority starting Monday. He insists that the government will only be formed with the first mandate, dominated by his party, and that the prime minister, foreign minister, and defense minister must be from GERB. Borissov himself will not run for prime minister to facilitate the negotiations. If these conditions are not met, Bulgaria will head to another election in September.

“There will be a government if the prime minister is from GERB. I will not run for prime minister to ease negotiations,” Borissov clarified. He announced a negotiating team comprising Temenuzka Petkova, Raya Nazaryan, and Denitsa Sacheva, with negotiations starting on Monday. Borissov believes the first mandate is the only chance to form a cabinet, warning that failure to do so will lead to September elections.

Borissov justified the need for GERB‘s dominance in the cabinet by stating that he cannot explain to his supporters why GERB, having won the elections again, should cede key ministerial positions. He confirmed that Mariya Gabriel will not be part of the cabinet and emphasized that GERB will not form a coalition with the Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS), despite past collaborations on various topics.

Borissov stressed the need for a government within the next seven days, warning of the exhaustion caused by repeated elections. He expressed respect for President Radev but highlighted the importance of avoiding institutional confrontations. Borissov also commented on the resignation of “Yes, Bulgaria” leader Hristo Ivanov, expressing regret and emphasizing the need for statesmanship over ego in these times.

2024 European Parliament election in Bulgaria

5 seats, 24.26% — The 2024 European Parliament election in Bulgaria will be held on June 9, 2024 as part of the 2024 European Parliament election. This will be the fifth parliamentary election since Bulgaria’s EU accession in 2007, and the first to take place after Brexit. Bulgaria will simultaneously hold a separate parliamentary election on the same day.

Since the pandemic in 2020, it has become customary that elections are held in Bulgaria twice a year regardless of the high cost for the country. It is expected that as in the previous 4-5 years, the second round of Parliamentarian elections will be held in October.

Government Elections in Bulgaria (2005-2022):

2005 Parliamentary Elections
2006 Presidential Elections
2007 Municipal Elections
2009 Parliamentary Elections
2009 European Parliament elections
2011 Presidential Elections
2011 Local Elections
2013 Early parliamentary elections
2014 Early Parliamentary Elections
2015 Municipal Elections
2016 Presidential election
2017 Parliamentary elections
2019 European Parliament election (23-26 May)
2019 Bulgarian local elections
2019 Municipal Elections
2021 April National Parliament election
2021 Second National Parliament election
2021 Third National Parliament and Presidential elections
2022 October elections for 48th National Assembly after the fall of a four-party coalition in June 2022.
2023 Bulgarian parliamentary election

For Christmas, Bulgaria dismantled a Soviet monument

SOFIA, Bulgaria — Bulgaria on Wednesday began dismantling a monument to the army of the Soviet Union that dominated the skyline of the capital, Sofia, for nearly 70 years and was widely seen as a symbol of Russia’s influence in the Balkan country.

The monument was erected in 1954 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Soviet forces entering Bulgaria, which had been allied with Nazi Germany in World War II. Their arrival in 1944 marked the beginning of 45 years of hardline Communist rule.

Following the collapse of communism in 1989, the local council in Sofia voted to remove the monument, but successive governments shied away from taking the final step.

On Wednesday, following years of heated debate, workers began to dismantle the 45-meter-high (147-foot) installation, removing the figures at the top, which showed a Soviet soldier holding an automatic rifle, a woman with her child, and a worker.

Vyara Todeva, regional governor of Sofia, said that for 70 years the monument was never restored and serious cracks had appeared in the figures.

It will take at least a month to dismantle the whole monument, she said, and the figures will likely be taken to the Museum of Socialist Art in Sofia.

In recent years, the monument has become a focal point of the deep divisions between pro-Russian and pro-Western groups in Bulgaria’s society. It has often been covered with paint by unknown artists, lately with the blue and yellow colors of the Ukrainian flag.

A heavy police presence was dispatched to secure the area around the monument and to prevent possible clashes between those in favor and those opposed to its removal.

The Socialists and other pro-Moscow groups in Parliament who fiercely oppose the monument’s removal said they would seek to organize a referendum on its fate. They said “similar anti-fascist monuments are standing untouched in many European cities”.

They received strong backing from Moscow, where the spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, said the dismantling would worsen relations with Bulgaria.

Looking Over the Wall: A Psychological Exploration of Communist and Post Communist Bulgaria

Looking Over the Wall: A Psychological Exploration of Communist and Post Communist Bulgaria

This book is the result of over a decade of research and personal experiences of living in Bulgaria for the past seven years. It embodies documents, articles, personal interviews and essays dealing with psychological explorations of communist and post communist Bulgaria. Along with a historical overview of Bulgaria, the author presents the development of psychotherapy throughout the country and addresses future concerns for the state of counseling within a post communist context. Furthermore, the author examines the Pentecostal experience of the Bulgarian evangelical believer drawing on a paper presented at the 36th annual Society of Pentecostal Studies Conference. As well included is original research which develops a theoretical account of the sequences of internal motivation in addition to student survey results regarding counseling practices from the first Master’s in Chaplaincy Ministry Program in Europe at the Bulgarian Evangelical Theological Institute.

Preview and Purchase Your Copy at Amazon.com

Next Page »