The Bulgarian Evangelical Believer and Communistic Consequences
The collapse of Bulgaria’s previous social order, communism, left the country with a moral and ideological void that was quickly filled with crime and corruption. A culture originally shaped by communism currently is influenced by capitalism and democracy. Post communist mentality with definite Balkan characteristics rules the country as a whole. This mentality holds captive nearly every progressive thought and idea. In the post communist context, the atheistic mind is a given and even when an individual experiences a genuine need for spirituality, in most cases he or she has no religious root to which to return other than Orthodoxy. This lack of alternative or spiritual choice produces a pessimistic morale.
From an environment of uncertainty and hopelessness, the Bulgarian Evangelical believer turns to the continuity of faith in the Almighty Redeemer. Pentecostalism as practical Christianity gives a sense of internal motivation to the discouraged. In a society that is limited in conduciveness for progression of thought or self actualization, one finds refuge in the promises of Christianity. It becomes a certainty which can be relied upon. Historically, having undergone severe persecution, the Bulgarian Evangelical believer is one who possesses great devotion to his or her belief. Having to defend the faith fosters a deep sense of appreciation and in an impoverished country, faith becomes all some have. Christ becomes the only one to whom to turn for provision. In the midst of this complete dependence is where miracles occur. Furthermore, it is in the midst of miracles where the skepticism which is prominent in post communist Bulgaria is broken. When those who believe are healed from cancer and even raised from the dead, there is no room for disbelief or low self-esteem. Surrounded with insecurity and uncertainty, the Bulgarian Evangelical believer finds great hope and comfort in the fact that God holds the future in His hands. Christianity is a reality that is certain.
Excepts taken from “LOOKING OVER the WALL”
A Psychological Exploration of Communist and Post Communist Bulgaria
Copyright © April 12, 2012 by Kathryn N. Donev
© 2012, Spasen Publishers, a division of www.cupandcross.com
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Presenting at the Society for Pentecostal Studies in Seattle Pacific University on “Historical and Doctrinal Formation of Holiness Teachings and Praxis among Bulgarian Pentecostals” (Part 1)
March 10, 2013 by Cup&Cross
Filed under News, Publication, Research
Presenting at the Society for Pentecostal Studies in Seattle on “Historical and Doctrinal Formation of Holiness Teachings and Praxis among Bulgarian Pentecostals” (Part 1)
Bulgarian Store in Atlanta
Over the weekend long time friends of ours opened a new store in Atlanta for Bulgarian foods and souvenirs representing the Malincho brand. This 3,000 sqft. building in the heart of Atlanta is full of delicious Bulgarian foods; authentic cheeses, dry sausages and meat products, Bulgarian spices, imported fresh and pickled vegetables and much more from every corner of Europe. Every Sunday the store offers freshly baked Bulgarian pastries and authentic Bulgarian grill. The store location is at:
2800 Spring Rd SE
Smyrna, GA.
(678) 217-4498
Open 9:00 am – 8:30 pm
Among the souvenirs you can find Bulgarian cookware and best selling cookbooks with real Bulgarian recipes like the one bellow:
Bulgarian Chaplaincy Association Ministry Projections for 2013
1. Continuing to increase awareness of the ministry efforts of the Bulgarian Chaplaincy Association on local, regional and national levels.
2. Publish the current edition of the underground chaplaincy ministry manual in Bulgarian including the most recent Code of
3. Ethics for Chaplains approved by the Association.
4. Launch second satellite extension of the Master’s in Chaplaincy Ministry Program in Northeast Region of Bulgaria near Black Sea.
5. Lawful admittance of Protestant Chaplains in the military bringing chaplaincy above ground.
6. Establish a network of support groups to provide the much needed re-integration care of military personnel after deployment.
7. Provide spiritual guidance and support to its members who continue to fulfill their calling of chaplaincy work regardless of the persecution endured on a daily basis.
8. Seek and create opportunities as an organization to enhance the quality of chaplaincy care via research and continuous education.
Two Bulgarian Bibles Printed in 2012
We are proud to announce the publication of two Bulgarian Bibles in 2012. The first is the original Bulgarian translation of 1871 known as the Constantinople Bible – perhaps one of the best translation works by the American Bible Society ever. The digital remake and its new publication in paper in 2012 took our team some seven years of work.
The second one is the 1940 Revised Bulgarian Bible initiated in 1920-24 by the British and Foreign Bible Society. It is perhaps the most read Bulgarian Bible of all times. While a number of new versions and revisions have attempted to replace it, our team has preserved the original text and made it available to Bulgarian readers abroad.
Both translation have been part of the Bible Works software since version 7 and its online equivalent YouVersion.com (now Bible.com) for several years now. We are also appreciative of the fact that almost immediately after the publication, both Bulgarian Bibles were picked up for distribution by Amazon.com and their sub-stores internationally, thus making them available to Bulgarian readers in all countries where Amazon is present, which covers virtually every region with Bulgarian population outside of Bulgaria.
Bulgarian Motifs
Bulgarian Bible (1871 Constantinople Edition) on Amazon.com
- Bulgarian Bible (1871 Constantinople Edition) now available worldwide through Amazon.com markets
- The Story of the Bulgarian Bible presented to The Pneuma Foundation
- New Printed Revised Edition of the Constantinople Bible Published (2008)
- Digital Constantinople Bible Published (2007)
- Cup & Cross Presents “The Story of the Bulgarian Bible” at ETS (2006)
- “The Story of the Bulgarian Bible” Presentation at ETS (video)
Bulgarian Video Bible Project Launched for Easter
50% of the Video Bible is already recorded. See it at http://bibliata.mobi/
For several years now, our team has been working on a brand new project featuring unconventional technology, which combines social media and the message of the Bible. We call it simply VIDEO BIBLE – a complete video recording of the Bible text through reading, expository preaching, drama, congregational reading, visual arts and many other ways of incorporating the Bible with modern media. It is easier to use compared to the common reading and listing of text.
How does it work?
The introduction of this unconventional media model to the social networks is much more appealing and user friendly than texting the Bible or broadcasting it as an audio stream. But even more powerful than the message itself, is its effect on the people as the church comes together in a community of faith to fulfill the Biblical commandment for reading and living the Book. This internet ecosystem is truly Bible based and everyone can see it on the recorded videos.
Where do we stand?
Over 250 people, youth groups, whole churches and ministries have participated in the project until this point. Over 50% of the Biblical text has been recorded and published via our video sharing stream at http://bibliata.tv and this number is increasing daily. Every recorded and broadcasted chapter of the Bible brings new participants to the community thus exponentially increasing the effect of the project.
What’s next?
The completion of the Bulgarian version of the Video Bible is set by the end of 2012, when our team will introduce the API for other languages and Bible versions. The idea is to create a global community of believers who introduce the message of the Bible in a user friendly video format, thus making it available to anyone who wants to read through the Bible. And something more – through its unique technology, mobile capabilities and social networking, the Video Bible is a genuine evangelism tool that could be used by anyone.
Bulgarian Churches in North America
Bulgarian Churches in North America results from a comprehensive dissertation work on emerging Bulgarian American congregations. The book incorporates some twenty years of research, which the author began while involved with the establishment of the first Bulgarian Church of God in North America initially located in the city of Chicago. The work presents an overview of the historical presuppositions and immigrant dynamics associated with Bulgarian churches is offered to enlighten the current problem of ministry. Next, a detailed contextual analysis describes the churches participating in the project. The project model design explains the research methodology and the study’s findings, which provide the first ever statistical overview of Bulgarian American congregations. The work concludes with a series of prognoses of the explored movement of evangelical churches, various considerations and an A-to-Z church planting proposal to serve as a paradigm for ministry and church planting among Bulgarian immigrant communities in North America.
Video Bible in Bulgarian
The Video Bible project in Bulgarian was originally envisioned in 2008 by the Cup & Cross ministry team as a result of two consecutive endeavors. The first was the finalization of a vision for the Bulgarian Bible on the internet, which began in 1996 and continued in the next decade resulting in the development of Bibliata.com – a web community for Bulgarian and Slavic speaking Christians around the world. The second one was the Bibliata.TV web project released in 2007-2008 after a wide variety of oppositions ranging from purely technical to religious and political aspects.
Once Bibliata.TV had established its permanent place in the internet it grew fast to become one of the most successful interactive media projects in Bulgarian history. Currently, the project hosts over 11,000 original Christian videos uploaded by some 1,200 registered members. It provides a web platform for daily religious broadcast for some two dozen of Bulgarian churches and ministries active around the globe and in 2008 became the home of the Bulgarian Video Bible.
This last ambitious project of the Cup & Cross ministry team undertook the difficult task to recreate the Bible in video format one chapter at a time. Churches, ministers and lay people were asked to record a favorite portion of the Bible as a video and upload it to Bibliata.TV. Currently 6,672 videos are already completed. They can be all seen at: http://video.bibliata.tv/. The anticipated release date of the Bulgarian Video Bible is 1.11.2011.
