Pentecost in Bulgaria (Chronological Reference)
1827 The British Bible Society begins working on a Bulgarian translation of the Bible
1840 The first Bulgarian Protestant New Testament is published in Smyrna
1844-1850 American missionary Elias Rigs publishes the first Bible Dictionary and New Testament Commentary in the Bulgarian language
1871 The first Bulgarian Protestant Church is founded in the town of Bansko
1872 The American Missionary School is established in Samokov
1876 April Uprising against the Turkish Empire
1878 Bulgaria is liberated by Russia from 500 years of Turkish yoke
1910 Protestant churches, including Methodist, Baptist, Lutheran and Congregationalist start local churches throughout Bulgaria
1920 Russian immigrants Voronaev and Zaplishny travels to Russia, and preaches Pentecost in the Congregational church in the Bulgarian port of Bourgas
1928 The Bulgarian Pentecostal Union was established
1929 A more conservative Pentecostal group with congregations located mainly in Northern Bulgaria emerges and forms the union called The Northern Brothers (or Tinchevists after the name of their leader Stoyan Tintchev). The group later calls themselves The Church of God
1944 Communists Regime begins
1949 The Pastor’s Litigation sentences all active Protestant pastors to imprisonment, labor camps or even death
1950 The Bulgarian Church of God becomes an underground organization refusing to register with the Communist government and is severally persecuted
1980s The Bulgarian Church of God establishes connection with the Church of God (Cleveland, TN)
1989 The Fall of the Berlin Wall was followed by liberation from the Communist Regime and a continuous revival was led by the Pentecostal churches in Bulgaria
Bulgaria: Human Rights Developments 2002
The election of a new government in June offered the promise of reform, but Bulgaria’s human rights record remained poor in 2001. Roma faced official and private discrimination and abuse. Police misconduct and inadequate prison conditions marred the criminal justice system. Respect for free expression worsened as the outgoing government sought to silence critical broadcasting at the state radio station. Constraints on religious freedom remained a cause for concern. Some progress was made in curbing the illegal arms trade and destroying surplus small arms, but more remained to be done to consolidate gains and halt irresponsible arms supplies.
The victory of the newly formed National Movement Simeon II (Nacionalno Dvisenie Simeon Tvori, NDSV) party in the June 17 parliamentary elections took center stage in 2001. The party, headed by former king Simeon II (who took office as the new prime minister), won half of all parliamentary seats in an election international monitors characterized as largely free and fair. The NDSV formed a coalition government with the predominantly Turkish Movement for Rights and Freedoms (Dvishenie za Prava i Svobody, DPS). As of October, however, the change in government had made little impact on the serious human rights challenges facing the country.
The plight of Bulgaria’s Roma remained a key concern. Roma were beaten by police in at least five cases, including a June 26 assault at Pleven police station in which a Rom suspect was allegedly tortured with electricity. Private individuals beat and shot at Roma on numerous occasions. The abuses sometimes occurred in the context of trespass or petty theft by Roma. Police and prosecutors generally failed to conduct serious investigations into the attacks. Four Roma were killed in the month of June, including two men shot dead by a security guard in Mogila on June 29. As of October 7, there had been no detentions in connection with the four deaths.
Bulgaria continued to lack a comprehensive antidiscrimination law. A study released by the Open Society Institute in September confirmed the broad scale of discrimination against Roma in the provision of housing, social services and health care. There were encouraging signs in April, however, when Petar Stoyanov, then-president of Bulgaria, gave his support to the full desegregation of Roma schools, following the success of a pilot project in Vidin. The Ministry of Education began consultations with Roma school administrators about desegregation in July.
Roma sometimes faced pressure to leave their homes. Arsonists burned down a Romany home in Sofia on March 15. In August, villagers from Oriahovica formed a committee to prevent Roma families from registering as residents of the village. Oriahovica was the scene of attacks on three Roma homes in December 2000, when a middle-aged Roma couple was beaten. Many Roma living in Stezherovo village fled in August after five hundred residents drew up a petition calling for the expulsion of all Roma from the village.
Human rights groups continued to receive credible reports of the excessive use of force by members of the police and security services. Rules of engagement allowing the use of deadly force to stop unarmed suspects fleeing provided part of the explanation. Disturbing incidents included the death of an unarmed twenty-one-year-old army conscript, shot repeatedly in the chest by a military police officer on July 22, the killing of a sixteen-year-old girl in Sofia by an off-duty police officer on January 31, and the November 2000 death of a sixteen-year-old Iraqi boy, shot by border guards as he tried to enter Bulgaria.
Conditions in prison and police detention remained alarming. The Bulgarian Helsinki Committee reported severe overcrowding, inadequate food and sanitation in prisons as well as excessive periods of pre-trial detention and beatings and other ill-treatment in police custody. Inmates protested poor conditions in August, taking over the roof of Sofia’s central prison, and carrying out hunger strikes in Varna.
Women’s human rights continued to be inadequately protected. Bulgaria lacked anti-sex discrimination legislation. The state response to trafficking in persons fell below minimum international standards with women victims frequently facing police hostility.
Freedom of expression came under renewed threat, with the attempted murder of a journalist in December 2000, problematic criminal defamation laws, and government interference at the state radio, Bulgarian National Radio (BNR). In February the government-dominated National Radio and Television Council appointed Ivan Borislavov as BNR director-general. The decision was widely regarded as an attempt to silence BNR’s criticism of state authorities, especially by the popular Horizint (Horizon) program, whose staff were quickly replaced with workers loyal to the government. Nineteen journalists were dismissed from the station in the protests that followed. Borislavov resigned prior to an April 9 Supreme Court ruling invalidating his appointment, but his successor continued to dismiss staff on questionable grounds and refused to negotiate with protesters. The May appointment of a new director-general Polya Stancheva, resolved the crisis, and the journalists were reinstated. An August decision by the incoming government to restrict journalists’ access at the Council of Ministers raised questions about its commitment to free expression.
Minority religious groups faced official restrictions and societal hostility. The much-criticized draft denominations law regulating the status of religious groups failed to pass in the outgoing Parliament leaving repressive communist-era legislation in force. In March, the European Court of Human Rights admitted a case against Bulgaria brought by a Muslim permanent resident over his expulsion from the country in July 1999 for “illegal religious activity,” following the court’s October 2000 judgment against Bulgaria for expelling Muslims on similar grounds.
Bulgaria announced in January that by December 2000 it had destroyed its stockpile of antipersonnel landmines in accordance with the 1997 Mine Ban Treaty, to which it is a state party. Bulgaria also took steps to tighten arms export controls, such as by banning arms sales to twenty countries, most under U.N. or E.U. arms embargoes. At the time of this writing, however, it had yet to enact promised legislation institutionalizing other important arms trade reforms, nor to incorporate human rights criteria into such legislation. The new government also gave indications it might reverse some arms trade restrictions to boost exports and protect jobs. Moreover, Bulgaria continued to sell off huge stocks of Soviet-era weapons in anticipation of joining NATO. In October the Bulgarian defense ministry announced it intended to sell nearly two hundred surplus tanks and other heavy weapons to finance purchases of NATO-standard equipment. Past practice, including confirmed 1999 surplus tank sales to Angola, suggested Bulgaria would likely export the weapons to human rights abusers, contrary to government pledges under the 1998 E.U. Code of Conduct on Arms Exports and other agreements. With U.S. financing and under the auspices of NATO’s Partnership for Peace program, in August Bulgaria began to destroy large quantities of surplus small arms, especially assault rifles, but no such funds were made available for the responsible disposal of surplus heavy weapons.
DEFENDING HUMAN RIGHTS
There were no reports of government interference in the work of human rights organizations, but two groups representing Roma and Macedonians reported harassment and interference with public education efforts related to minority participation in the March national census.
THE ROLE OF THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
On March 27, Freimut Duvé, the OSCE representative on freedom of the media, voiced concern over the crisis at Bulgarian National Radio, focusing particularly on the dismissal of journalists. On August 31, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights issued its final report on the June 17 parliamentary elections, concluding that the elections met OSCE standards, despite overly-restrictive media regulations.
Council of Europe
On May 31, Bulgaria ratified two agreements enhancing its citizen’s access to the European Court of Human Rights. The court declared a religious freedom case against Bulgaria admissible in March. Bulgaria settled a case before the court in May, agreeing to expunge the criminal conviction of a conscientious objector who was willing to perform alternative service. In October the court held that Bulgaria had violated a ethnic Macedonian organization’s freedom of assembly.
European Union
A September 5 European Parliament resolution emphasized Bulgaria’s progress toward E.U. accession but noted the outstanding areas of concern enumerated in the May 28 report from the Parliament’s rapporteur on Bulgaria, particularly the limited improvement in conditions for Roma. In its November 2001 regular report on Bulgaria’s progress toward E.U. accession, the European Commission highlighted police violence and the limited progress in improving the status of Roma.
United States
There was no public reference to Bulgaria’s human rights record when Secretary of State Colin Powell met then-prime minister Ivan Kostov on April 25. The State Department country report on human rights practices for 2000 reflected the main shortcomings in Bulgaria’s record.
Mission Bulgaria Week 31
NEWS – Week 31 – March 18-24, 2002 – Sofia, BULGARIA
Greetings from Bulgaria:
This morning Bulgaria woke up covered with snow. The temperatures are in the 20s, but the weather is expected to be very warm by the end of the week. This is a usual March weather for Bulgaria.
On Thursday and Friday I traveled to the Yambol area where several churches are in revival. We had a really good time rejoicing in the Lord. The trip coming back was more difficult as a strike of 10,000 Bulgarians had gathered in downtown Sofia to protest against the politics of the present government. None of the politicians at the Bulgarian Parliament came out to speak with the crowd, which stayed for hours under the pouring rain. This is perhaps only the first of many strikes, which are expected to follow.
On Saturday, March 23 the ministers of the Sofia region gathered together at the Bulina Livada Church of God to take important decisions on the development and the future of the region. The Sofia region includes 1/3 of the total membership of the Bulgarian Church of God and extends to an area of approximately 20,000 sq. km. The Sofia region includes 37 churches and more than 5,000 members.
A new strategy was developed for providing for the needs of the churches, and a regional government was elected. It included 14 men plus the regional overseer. Among them were elected men to work with the Roma communities in the region, Social Work Regional Pastor, Evangelism Regional Director and Educational Regional Director.
I was elected for the position of Educational Regional director for the Sofia region. This election comes in time with the organization of the first of its kind round table for Evangelicals. It will occur on March 29, 2002 in the Aula of the University of Sofia as Orthodox and Protestant scholars and pastors will present lectures on “The Influence of the Protestant Missionaries for the Spiritual Upbringing and Political Liberation of the Bulgarian Nation.”
Mission Bulgaria Week 30
NEWS – Week 30 – March 12-17, 2002 – Sofia, BULGARIA
Greetings from Bulgaria:
This Sunday marks the 50 days (actually 7 weeks) before the Orthodox Easter (Easter in Bulgaria this year will be on May 5th). This also marks the beginning of the Easter fast which starts on Monday. As an old national custom tonight every household in Bulgaria gets together and has a nice big dinner in preparation for the fasts. The tradition also includes a request for forgiveness from relatives, friends and enemies. While as Protestants we do not observe the Orthodox holidays, in our church today we did request forgiveness for our mistakes, errors and sin. We had a wonderful time of seeking the Lord, worshiping and calling upon Him.
The week was exciting for our ministries. I finished teaching the three-weeks systematic theology module at the Department of Pentecostal Studies at the Bulgarian Evangelical Theological Institute in Sofia. I praise the Lord for this opportunity and the successes of the students. Our studies on Pneumatology, Ecclesiology and Eschatology ended with a revival service that moved from Sofia to the Pravetz Church of God, where we went with 2 vans loaded with students and ministered to the people there.
On another note, Pastor Doneva just came back from Yambol on Friday, where they had revival services with prayer and fasting at the churches she pastors. The church in the village of Polyana, where they shot at Mom and her team, officially reopened for services. Filled with great joy the people have restored the building to its original state and are having three services a day. I am planning to travel there this week and participate in the revival, which is going on there.
Mission Bulgaria Week 29
NEWS – Week 29 – March 4-11, 2002 – Sofia, BULGARIA
Greetings from Bulgaria:
Our ministry was again mentioned in the chaplaincy report Church of God Chaplaincy Commission. However, the best news is that the church, which I asked you to pray for, has its building back. Not only that the man who wanted it gave up on the idea, but he and the mayor will personally give the keys to the congregation this week. My mother is traveling tomorrow for the service at which this will be done. We are praying that the church will have the opportunity to purchase the building for the price at which it was originally offered.
Again I had the opportunity to speak 19 times this past week. It has been a time of self-examination and consecration as the whole institute, students, teachers and administration have devoted ourselves to prayer and fasting through the week. The time of seeking God continues as more pray for afresh anointing, power from above and a vision of the glory of God. We are also planning a trip to Pravetz on Thursday, with some 10 students who have had a desire in their hearts to travel with me.
Mission Bulgaria Week 28
NEWS – Week 28 February 24 – March 3, 2002 – Sofia, BULGARIA
Greetings from Bulgaria:
What an exciting week we have had. Our ministry has found place in the reports of both Church of God World Missions, the Church of God Chaplaincy Commission and the Church of God FaithNews Network.
This week I began teaching Systematic Theology in the Department of Pentecostal Studies at the Bulgarian Evangelical Theological Institute. This week we had three lectures a day on the subject of Pneumotology. The class ended with a debate on 1 Corinthians 14 on Friday in which professors and first, second and third year students participated.
We also had a wonderful service on Wednesday as I perched a sermon called “… and don’t’ you be afraid.” The altar call lasted for more than an hour as we ministered to the people with needs. On Thursday we again traveled to the town of Pravetz and held a service in the Church of God there. On Saturday our crusade services continued. I preached a sermon called, “There is power.” Although the attendance was a bit law due to the soccer game in town, we had a very good service as many pastors from Sofia attended with their families and congregations.
So far I have preached 50 times this year and have spoken 19 times only this past week. I am physically exhausted, but I rejoice in the Lord for what He is doing and I personally feel fulfilled in what I am doing.
My mother Eva Doneva traveled to her churches and gathered the congregations for a three-day of fasting and prayer. They received good results on one of the buildings they wanted to purchase for a church auditorium. The men who pretended for the building, has brought them the keys of the building himself. He declared that he does not wish to purchase the building any longer and that they can use it for their services. The mayor has approved this settlement and now the church in Polyana has a real opportunity to buy the building for a church.
Mission Bulgaria Week 27
NEWS – Week 27 February 16-23, 2002 Sofia, BULGARIA
Greetings from Bulgaria:
Indeed this is a report of a blessed week. We had a very successful Chaplaincy Seminar with the participation of Dr. Crick and Dr. Popejoy from Cleveland, TN. More than 60 people attended and listened to the lectures during the week. These were people actively involved in military, hospital and prison ministries, students and church members. The seminar helped greatly and was a stepping-stone for the development of the Chaplaincy Ministry in Bulgaria, and served as a beginning point of the structural development of the department of chaplaincy and caregivers in the Bulgarian Church of God.
I also must report and outstanding outpouring of the Holy Spirit at the Wednesday evening service as we finished the expository preaching on the Epistle to the Galatians. At the altars people prayed and cried out to God for hours. Some were slain in the Spirit, and several reported that they were baptized in the Holy Spirit.
A National Presbyters Meeting was held in Sofia on Saturday with the purposes of electing a new central leadership of the Bulgarian Church of God. Pastor Pavel Ignatov was reelected for a National Overseer. A significant detail of the meeting was the election of two assistants to the national overseers instead of one. This was done with the purposes of larger representation of the minority groups within the church (Roma, Gipsy, Turks, Pomaks, etc.). Again for the purposes of equal representation the same reason 2 Roma people were added to the 11 members of the Presbyters Council. Total of 269 pastors and deacons were present and represented 25,422 members of the Bulgarian Church of God.
I was able to prepare small 40-page booklets with the 20 Sunday School lessons in a 6,000 circulation. The books were freely distributed to all ministers present at the meeting.
MISSION 2002: 6 Months in Bulgaria
6 Months in Bulgaria
Six months have passed since I returned to my home country Bulgaria. Although the many difficulties, limited finances and lack of advanced infra structural organization, I was able to:
1. Serve as a pastor of the Pravetz Church of God (40-60 members)
2. Serve as an Associate Pastor of the Central Church of God in Sofia (1,400 members)
3. Developed and integrated a Sunday School Pilot Program with 20 lessons in more than 70 local congregations nationally as more than 30,000 lessons were distributed freely
4. Start a Saturday crusade services and successfully build it up to a 380 attendees
5. Actively help a mission team ministering to 11 churches in the area of my home-town Yambol
6. Organize a chaplaincy seminar for more than 60 Bulgarian chaplains active in hospitals, prisons, military and police force
7. Completed an expository series on the books of Revelation and Galatians
8. Organized and led a Bible-study home group of 12 in the Buxton suburb of Sofia
9. Began weekly services for English-speaking people
10. Preach a total of 61 times in various church services, crusade meetings and ministerial conferences
11. Teach at Pentecostal Department of the Bulgarian Evangelical Theological Institute (BETI) in Sofia
Bulgaria: Politics
Through the past 12 years Bulgaria has become one of what is now known as a Post – Communist countries. This rather explicit name integrates a low life-standard, negative economic status, and the hopelessness of the people. In the summer of 2001 as the Democratic Party lost the elections, a newly formed movement led by the son of the ex-Bulgarian King whose family was expulsed by the communists in 1944, headed the Bulgarian political life. The royal descendant, Simeon Saxcoburggotsky, became the Prime-minister of the Bulgarian Government. Furthermore the Presidential elections that followed shortly were won by a socialist, George Parvanov, who entered the office of President of the Republic of Bulgaria in January 2002.
Bulgaria: Economics
The political changes reflected significantly on the economic situation of Bulgaria. Considerable changes took places in the already high tax-laws in parallel with significant increase followed in the costs of fuel ($2.49 per gallon), electricity, central heat, water and services. Yet, the drastic changes were unable to satisfy the $8 billion external debt and the 3 times higher internal debt of the Bulgarian economics.
Bulgaria: Society
The only hope that the Government gave to the people was to wait until the 800 days program of the Government was fully integrated and the first results were seen. This did not help much the seven million Bulgarians who had to go through a heavy winter with 15 inches of snow and constant temperatures of 20° C bellow zero.
Bulgaria: Church
The past 12 years of democratic government and politics in Bulgaria have created a relatively balanced atmosphere of religious tolerance. Although the Orthodox Church is still the official religious denomination, and that single anti-Protestant actions still exist, the evangelical churches in Bulgaria are experiencing a time of freedom and revival. As a result, the Protestant churches have grown more than 780%. For example, while in the mid 80s the Bulgarian Church of God had only 800 members today there are more than 380 churches with 31,000 members, as 37 churches with 5,200 members are in the capital Sofia alone. This is the context in which we minister every day, preach the Gospel, advance the Kingdom and declare that Jesus is Lord of Bulgaria.
Mission Bulgaria Week 25
NEWS – Week 25 – February 3-10, 2002 – Sofia, BULGARIA
Greetings from Bulgaria: The new crusade/evangelization Saturday service was given an extraordinary start. The meeting was held in an auditorium called “The Bulgarian-Soviet Comradeship” in the building of what used to be called the Russian Club, a building used by the Communist party before the fall of the Berlin Wall. This past Saturday a great more than 340 attended a Pentecostal worship service there. The crusade meetings purpose to gather predominantly teenagers and young families and provide for them Christian fellowship on Saturday. It offers a more alternative style of worship and preaching that targets specific needs and problems of the young people. On Sunday we held a Communion service in the Pravetz Church of God. There, the more traditional for the Bulgarian Church of God style of taking Communion is still preserved, as it includes foot washing and a special prayer for the sick with anointing. After the service two reported instant healing. More than 40 attended, and I am personally encouraged by the church that is being revived by God before my very eyes.
Mission Bulgaria Week 24
NEWS – Week 24 – January 17-February 2, 2002 – Sofia, BULGARIA
Greetings from Bulgaria:
What an exciting and busy week. On Tuesday our regular service for English-speaking people met with great success. On Wednesday we started the service with a new worship team of seven musicians and singers and then I preached on Galatians chapter three. During the altar service we witnessed a great outpouring of the Holy Spirit as many cried, prayed and received miracles from God. On Friday a service was held in the town of Kustendil, about 100 miles south of Sofia in the Bulgarian part of Macedonia. Several at the meeting reported deliverance from the influence of demons. On Sunday the lesson was on “Ministries and Praxis.” The afternoon service in Pravetz was good as many attended from the towns and villages around.
Another good report came from the small village in the Rodopi Mountains (Southern Bulgaria). The village is close to the Turkish border and it is completely Muslim. The only three Christian converts were Pentecostal. In the beginning of this week they were approached by the Muslim imam (local chief of the town mosque), who asked them of their faith. As they explained what they believed, the imam who was in a wheel chair said, “If your God is real he can heal me now, can’t He?” The Christians prayed for him right on the small city squire in front of the mosque and the village people. The imam was instantly and completely healed. It was reported that by the end of the week the mosque was closed because no one attended any longer.
At 5 p.m. on February 9 we are planning a large non-denominational evangelization crusade at the Auditorium of the Bulgarian-Russian Friendship, a building that during the Regime was used for youth meetings Communist Party. It has only 400 seats but we expect many more to attend.
