Published in the Bulgarian National Geographic
The March issue of the Bulgarian National Geographic featured an article about the Bulgarian Bogomils – a medieval Bulgarian sect that split from the Orthodox Church forming its own religious community with peculiar customs. The author of the article, the renowned Bulgarian journalist Lubormir Kiumurdjiev, interviewed a number of Bulgarian theologians in an effort to investigate the Christian roots of the Bogomil’s theology. The view of the Bulgarian protestant community was represented in the article by Dr. Dony K. Donev, who elaborates on two main points in the faith of the Bogomils namely, their purposeful simplification of liturgy, as a sign of proto-reformation theology within the context of the Eastern Orthodox Church and their continuous efforts toward a new literal Bible translation in the spoken Bulgarian vernacular of their times.
The National Geographic’s publication comes as a high recognition of long years of hard labor in the publication of three biweekly series. Two of them are still ongoing with the Bulgarian Evangelical Newspaper as one tells the story of Bulgarian Protestantism, and the other focuses on chronological paleographical examination of Biblical manuscripts, in comparison of versions and revisions of the Bulgarian Bible. The third one is published in the Pentecostal Evangel and is almost finished with the examination of early Bulgarian Pentecostal history, while many of its findings will be presented at the 2010 SPS meeting.
Bulgarian Video Bible
Cup & Cross Ministries is proud to announce the beginning of a new media project entitled Bulgarian Video Bible. The project purposes the production of a Bulgarian language Bible in video format. The project is hosted by the Bibliata.TV video website also directed and administered by Cup & Cross team members.
The video website was released in September, 2008 to promote Christian education and spiritual upbringing through creative arts and new technologies. For the past several months it has become a dynamic internet community for Christians in Bulgaria and abroad. The project will be presented at the upcoming BibleTech 2009 conference organized by Logos Bible Software with which Cup & Cross Ministries have partnered in various Bible study related projects.
The first Bulgarian Video Bible is expected to be released by 2010. The completed modules of the projects can be viewed now at: http://video.bibliata.tv/
National Leadership Seminar for the Bulgarian Church of God Continues
Levels 3-5 of the Leadership Seminar were presented on Saturday afternoon in the Gabrovo Church of God. The following topics were covered: 21 Laws of Leadership from a Biblical Perspective, 52 Leadership Principles of Jesus and 17 Laws of Teamwork for Churches. Plans have been made for the seminar to be held in Bourgas, Sofia, Samokov and Russe.
On Sunday we delivered a message entitled 10 Signs of the Last Days. This is a sermon accompanied by a powerful media presentation that informs of recent developments in Bible Prophecy and urges believers to prepare and stay ready for the final hour of Biblical eschatology.
After the morning service, we traveled south to meet with pastors in Kazanlak and Stara Zagora and reached the city of Dimitrovgrad located South of the Balkan Range. We were invited to speak to the hundreds of young people from Bulgaria, Ukrain, Russia and Molodva who had gathered there for a youth rally. As planned and expected we announced the release of the newest of our ministry websites – a GodTube like web community called Bibliata.TV.
Leadership Seminar for the Bulgarian Church of God
A month ago, Cup & Cross Ministries visited the Samokov congregation pastored by Church of God National Overseer Alexander Todorov. Our team then left for the Salvation Church of God in the capital Sofia, to hold the first level of the Church Leadership Seminar. We have worked on this course for the past two years and designed it to serve as a tactical ministry training element in our national strategy for Church of God congregations. The first module included topics such as:
(1) The leadership principles of Jesus
(2) Recognition, training and personal qualifications of a successful leader
(3) The principles of God’s timing
(4) Sacrifice, responsibility, investment and delegation
(5) The law of sowing and reaping
(6) The law of navigation
(7) Problem solving
(8) Psalm 23 for leaders
Subsequently, we released on the internet a 34-part series called the Successful Leader. Immediately after we held the course in Sofia, we began receiving invitations to hold the course in various locations in Bulgaria. As a result, we scheduled the first level of the leadership course with the churches in Sliven, Bourgas, Rousse and began planning its future presentation with the churches in Gabrovo, Yambol, and Samokov. We will be then returning to Samokov and Sofia in September to teach the second level of the Church Leadership Course in the Church of God congregations there.
New Bulgarian Translation of the Bible Released
Cup & Cross Ministries has released a new translation of the complete Johannine works (the Gospel, Epistles and Revelation) for the Bulgarian Easter on April 27, 2008.The final result of this project is a 90-page book including Bulgarian literal translation from the Greek originals NA 27/28, critical apparatus, textual commentary and translators notes. The book is successful in its purposes to provide a literal translation in the Bulgarian vernacular, exact preservation of the word order from the original text, translation of the Greek grammatical forms, as well as the Hebrew and Aramaic linguistic uniqueness of the text and a preservation of the original parts of speech and verb tenses. Read more
Bulgarian Churches in North America: Contextual Assessment
After awaking in the morning of the 21st century, the world was rapidly introduced to a new postmodern movement called globalization. At a top political and economic level, globalization is the process of denationalization of markets, politics and legal systems purposing the implementation of a global economy. However, globalization is much more than an economic event as it affects social status and human rights of people worldwide. For the world community the process of globalization is a process of internationalization describing cross-border relations between countries, growth in international exchange and interdependence. It is also viewed as a liberalization process of removing government-imposed restrictions on movements between countries in order to create a borderless world. Globalization further implements spreading various objects and experiences to people at all corners of the earth creating universalization. In a cultural context, globalization is often seen as Westernization of the world. Finally, globalization carries the meaning of deterritorialization – reconfiguration of geography reforming any social place in new terms of independent territory, distance and borders.
Since the church is a global event, inevitably this process affects the community of believers. The “global believer” seeks to connect with people of similar nature independent of race, location and social status. Thus, church mission and church ministry reclaim its original Biblical global perspective. In this process, the church of postmodernity is liberated from its nationality and reaches toward internationalization establishing a new multicultural identity with a global perspective and mission. As a result multicultural churches gain a contextual new function serving as identity sources. Such is the case with the network of Bulgarian churches in North America.
Established to unite all Protestant Bulgarian churches in North America, it reaffirms the participation of Bulgarian immigrant communities in the global multicultural ministry. This present contextual assessment will explore the process of establishing a network of Bulgarian churches in Northern America. Read the complete paper (PDF)
Bulgarian Chaplaincy Associations Recognized by U.S. Department of State
BREAKING NEWS [October 8, 2007]
Original source: U.S. Department of State www.state.gov
For immediate release
Bulgarian Chaplaincy Associations Recognized by U.S. Department of State
U.S. Department of State has released its annual International Religious Freedom Report for 2007. In the section about Bulgaria, the work of Cup & Cross Ministries has been noted through the recognition of the Bulgarian Chaplaincy Association.
Cup & Cross Ministries has worked toward the establishment of the Bulgarian chaplaincy Association since the year 2000. After five years of training chaplains, strategic professional placement and providing ministry in all respective areas of chaplaincy, in 2005 we began the process of registration with the Bulgarian government. This process was both difficult and a long test of our endurance. Although we were not openly denied registration under the 2002 Religious Act, various courts throughout Bulgaria hesitated and delayed our legal registration. Our ministry activities were closely watched and members of our staff were called in for interrogation on various occasions. After resorting to international human rights and religious freedom organizations, finally on February 23, 2007 the Bulgarian Chaplaincy Association received registration by the Sofia Municipality Court to become the first legal chaplaincy organization in Bulgaria officially recognized by the Bulgarian government. The current U.S. Department of State report overviews the above process. The direct quote of the report follows:
International Religious Freedom Report 2007
Released on September 14, 2007
http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90168.htm
Section II. Status of Religious Freedom
Improvements and Positive Developments in Respect for Religious Freedom
Some religious denominations reported that the Religious Confessions Directorate had become more active in assuring that national and local authorities respect and promoted religious freedom and that the national government was more receptive to their concerns. For example, a Protestant group, the Bulgarian Chaplaincy Association, gained legal status on February 23, 2007. The association represents approximately 120 Protestant pastors and individuals mainly affiliated with the Church of God and Assemblies of God but also includes Baptists and Lutherans.
Bulgarian Evangelical Churches in America
The annual conference of Bulgarian Evangelical churches in North America was held May 25-28, 2007 at the Christian Life Church in Chicago’s suburb Des Planes where the largest number of Bulgarian immigrants is locating. This year the event was hosted by the Bulgarian Evangelical Church of God “New Life” pastored by Stan Tanev. The conference gathered Bulgarian immigrants from all parts of America. The churches from Minneapolis, Dallas, Huston and Los Angelis participated. Representatives from New York City, Tennessee and Las Vegas reported growth of newly started Bulgarian congregations in their respective areas. Special guest of the conference was Martha Zaplishny Jackson, daughter of the first Pentecostal missionaries to Bulgaria, Rev. Dionesey and Olga Zaplishny.
Bulgarian Evangelical Church of God in Chicago
This is the story of the first Bulgarian Church of God established in the Untied States. The church was started in the building of the Narragansett Church of God in Chicago which at the time was pastored by Rev. Sean O’Neal. Led by a dynamic cross-cultural vision, the congregation expanded in several ethnic branches. Using a strategy home mission’s approach the church soon became an important religious center for the Chicago metro.
In December 1994, the Lord led me to participate in a step-mission trip to Chicago organized by the students of East Coast Bible College. As preparations were made we learned of several Bulgarians who attend the Narragansett Church of God in Chicago. Unfortunately, they had been hurt by some Bulgarian ministers who had visited them before and were very suspicious of any organized church work. Yet, I was introduced to them and was able to minister to them in several services.
By the end of our mission trip Pastor O’Neal invited me to join him in his attempt to begin a Bulgarian church in the city. Although at this time Chicago was a center for more than 12,000 Bulgarian immigrants no one had attempted to start a Bulgarian Protestant church.
After much prayer I arrived in Chicago on May 27, 1995. In the remaining part of May we created a strategy to reach as many Bulgarians as possible. This included visitation of families, attending Bulgarians social functions, and establishing contact with several Bulgarian organizations active in the Chicago area such as the Bulgarian Club and the Orthodox Church. In June we executed this plan with much success. During this time I lived with a Bulgarian family and slept on the balcony of their apartment on Jackson Boulevard. Often, I had to spend the night in the church building as well. But the most important thing was to carry the vision to the end.
On July 9, 1995 the first organized Bulgarian Church of God was established in Chicago city. I was privileged to preach on the subject of forgiveness as 10 Bulgarians attended. Little I knew that in the years to come much forgiveness will be needed as the church will be torn apart by deep bitterness, personal ambitions, frequent confusion and lack of mission. Yet, while the works of men fails, the work of God remains.
By the end of the summer of 1995 the Bulgarian Church in Chicago had grown to 42 people. Thanks to the faithful and united work of Bulgarians and Americans in the fall of the same year the number was 64. On October 7, 1995, I was able to visit the church in Chicago again and present it to the National Overseer of the Bulgarian Church of God, Pastor Pavel Ignatov who visited the church for the first time. The church became not only the first officially registered Bulgarian Pentecostal congregation in the United States, but also an important social and educational center able to minister to the 100,000 Bulgarians that live in the Great Lake region today.
Called to another mission, I left Chicago on July 30, 1995. The church bulletin upon my departure under Farewell and Appreciation read: “Today we are saying thank you to Dony for a job well done this past summer. He has served our church faithfully, and has been a tremendous blessing to Narragansett Ministries. Immediately following worship this morning, there is a dinner in Dony’s honor in the fellowship hall. And everyone is invited to attend.”
The church congregation presented me with a plaque that represented my efforts and work in Chicago. But for me, this plaque represents much more. It represents the prayers and the vision of many who are continuing the work today, establishing and leading Bulgarian churches around the world to providing pastoral care for many who have left the homeland in search for a better life. To these ministers goes my personal token of appreciation and thanks, “Well done thou good and faithful … “
Bulgarian Pentecostals
Fifteen years after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Bulgarian Protestant movement claims over 100,000 members. This number is almost ten times higher than a 1975 German study which presented proof of approximately 13,000 “known” Protestants in Bulgaria. In the 1980s, this number had grown to 55,000, as this was the time when many Western missionaries were able to visit Bulgaria and gather information about the underground churches outlawed by the Communist Regime.
Although international reports confirmed the existence of over 100,000 Protestants in Bulgaria as early as 1994, the Bulgarian National Statistical Institute counted only 42,000 Protestant believers in Bulgaria for the 2002-2003 National Census. This number was detested recently by Dr. Stephen Penov, a professor at the Sofia University and a member of the Bulgarian Academy of Science, who has served as a Parliament expert on human rights and faith confessions. Dr. Penov stated that the members of classical Protestant denominations in Bulgarian exceeded 100,000 with over 60,000 identified as classical Protestants and a membership in the new Protestant denominations of approximately 50,000. During the past fifteen years, Bulgaria has experienced an ongoing Pentecostal revival. Therefore, it is not a surprise that over eighty percent of Bulgarian Protestants are Pentecostal or claim Pentecostal experience.
Protestant work on the Balkan Peninsula began in the 1800s when British and American missionaries were allowed to enter the Ottoman Empire. In the 1820s, the British Bible Society developed a Protestant translation of the Bulgarian Bible, which was completed and published in Constantinople in 1871. During this same period, various Protestant denominations began mission work in Bulgaria, among which were Congregationalists (1856), Methodist (1857), Baptists (1865) and Seven Day Adventists (1891). In 1871, the first Bulgarian Protestant Church was founded in the town of Bansko. By the time Bulgaria was liberated in 1878 and became an independent Balkan state, Protestantism was well established in the Bulgarian culture.
Pentecostalism was introduced in Bulgaria in 1920 as Ukrainian immigrants Zaplishny and Voronaev preached in the Congregational church at the Black Sea port city of Bourgas, where several were baptized with the Holy Spirit. This event marked the beginning of Bulgarian Pentecostalism.
In the next decade, the movement had spread throughout the country. The establishment of a consistent national structure occurred under the leadership of Nikolai Nikolov. The new denomination was formally recognized as the Union of the Evangelical Pentecostal Churches in Bulgaria, at a national assembly on 28-31 March, 1928. The organization, also known as the Pentecostal Union, was affiliated with the Assemblies of God denomination.
Legally, the newly formed organization was required to register with the Bulgarian government. This caused a great deal of controversy and division. A conservative Pentecostal group, with congregations located mainly in Northern Bulgaria, emerged from the split and adopted the name, Tinchevists, after the name of the leader Stoyan Tintchev. The Tinchevists, who are often called Northern Brothers due to the fact that most of their congregations were located in Northern Bulgaria, later became commonly known as the Bulgarian Church of God (lit. Bulgarian God’s Church).
The split between the Pentecostal Union and the Church of God was mainly due to leadership instability and internal organization disagreement. Unfortunately, due to the historical developments which followed, true attempts to reunite both Pentecostal wings did not take place even after the original leaders were replaced.
In 1944, the Communist Revolution took place in Bulgaria. In 1949, Communist authorities tried and convicted fifteen protestant leaders on false charges of treason and espionage. The division among Bulgarian Pentecostals continued during the Communist Regime. The Pentecostal Union pursued legal existence by registering with the Communist state. This action led to the government’s interference with church business and the implanting of secret agents within the denomination’s structure.
The Bulgarian Church of God, on the other hand, chose to remain underground and was severely persecuted by the authorities. Archives report that in 1974, the Bulgarian Church of God had only 600 members nationwide. This number grew to 2,000 members with congregations in 25 cities by 1981 and doubled by 1986 when the denomination was affiliated with the Church of God (Cleveland, TN).
At the same time, the Bulgarian Pentecostal Union had approximately 10,000 members and when the Berlin Wall fell, the denomination entered the Pentecostal revival that swept the country. In the decade that followed, the Pentecostal Union multiplied its congregation to 500 with over 50,000 members and adherents. A recent interview with Ivan Ivanov, the student pastor of the Pentecostal College in Sofia, indicated that the membership of the Pentecostal Union might have experienced a decline since 2002.
Meanwhile, the Bulgarian Church of God continued to grow reporting over 32,000 members with close to 400 congregations in 2001. Its work among the ethnic minorities in the country has resulted in the emergence of large Roma congregations like the ones in Samokov with 1,700 and in Razlog with 450 members.
It is reasonable to ask the question why is Pentecostalism so attractive to Bulgarian culture in the beginning of the 21st century? How is Pentecostalism responding so well to the need for faith within the postcommunist Bulgarian society? What is the reason Pentecostalism has spread so rapidly in the postcommunist age? Is Pentecostalism simply filling a spiritual gap or is it successfully responding to postmodern thinking?
The answers to the above questions are found in Pentecostal theology, which claims the “five-fold Gospel.” The results of a recent survey of one hundred randomly selected Bulgarian Protestants asking about the fundamentals of their faith is shown in the following table:
| Question | Yes | No |
| Does a person have free will? | 78% | 22% |
| Can a person choose to be saved or not? | 75% | 25% |
| Must a person accept Jesus Christ as a personal Savior in order to be saved? | 97% | 3% |
| Can a person lose his/her salvation? | 75% | 25% |
| Is the use of alcohol sin? | 60% | 40% |
| Can a person be saved without being baptized in the Holy Spirit? | 72% | 28% |
| Are you baptized with the Holy Spirit? | 63% | 37% |
| Have the spiritual gifts described in the Bible ceased? | 10% | 90% |
| Are there apostles today? | 64% | 36% |
| Do you go to church each week? | 73% | 27% |
| Do you pray daily? | 88% | 12% |
| Do you read the Bible daily? | 77% | 23% |
| Do you fast more than once a week? | 35% | 65% |
The last characteristic is prompted by the obvious fact, that where two or three Bulgarian Protestants agree, one disagrees with them. It is for future researchers to determine if this is a reflection of Bulgarian cultural mentality, suspicion remaining from the Communist Regime or simply Pentecostal experiential curiosity with existential need for opposition of social norms even within itself.
Fortunately, Bulgarians remain in almost complete agreement on issues such as the person and work of Jesus Christ in the salvific mission of God and the importance of the Holy Spirit in the mission of the church. Perhaps, these are the points of agreement which future Bulgarian Protestants should use to build unity and construct strategies for the future development of the movement. Because these also serve as the cornerstone of Pentecostal doctrine and practice, a movement toward unity within the Bulgarian Protestant movement should be initiated by Bulgarian Pentecostals. However, before such initiation can be realized, Pentecostals must reach a balance between their numerical advantage and their social action.
