25 Years of Miracles: 2003
February Ministry Report (February 27, 2003)
We held several training seminars as well as parallel prayer meetings. In the middle of the seminar on healing, a lady from one of the local churches stood and announced that she must leave the meeting because her husband who had a stroke was at home alone. Apparently, he was unable to move due to the stroke and needed her care. Her vocal announcement was the least to say discouraging for the healing hour of the seminar. However, the feeling of disappointment did not persist much longer. Several hours later as we were gathered in prayer, the same lady phoned the church where we were gathered to tell us that as she returned home from the meeting her husband had told her that he wants to get up and walk. She listened to him with disbelief since the doctors had said he may never walk again. That same day he slowly walked on his own around the house. The next day he was able to make several steps in the yard. God’s power followed his wife from the meetings to their house and healed him. The newer people who attended our meetings were strongly impressed by the numerous healings and the fact that none of the several hindered people who are members of our Christian movement is sick. Our prayers for healing are always supported by strong and continuous fasting. Now these newer people have began chain prayer and fasting in their villages and are constantly reporting of healings in their areas as well. Most of our recent meetings have turned to testimony services where people who have been sick just a week ago travel to our meetings to testify how God has healed them after the prayers of the Pentecostal Christians.
Second Regional Training Conference (March 30, 2003)
In our last report we shared with you that at the training conference in February 2003, in the middle of the seminar on healing, a lady from one of the local churches stood and announced that she must leave the meeting because her husband who had a stroke was at home alone. Apparently, he was unable to move due to the stroke and needed her care. Her vocal announcement was the least to say discouraging for the healing hour of the seminar. However, the feeling of disappointment did not persist much longer. Several hours later as we were gathered in prayer, that same lady phoned the church where we were gathered to tell us that as she returned home from the meeting her husband had told her that he wanted to get up and walk. She listened to him with disbelief since the doctors had said he may never walk again. That same day he slowly walked on his own around the house. The next day he was able to take several steps in the yard. God’s power followed his wife from the meetings to their house and healed him. This lady brought her husband with her to the training conference on Saturday March 15. They both sang songs which the Spirit has given them in the past several months through which the husband has been sick and testified about God’s mercy and healing power. After the seminar a 53 year old lady from the church in Polyana, where we have been struggling to purchase a building for a church for almost two years, reported that the Lord healed her at the conference. All her life she has had severe heart problems. For years she has taken heart medications and followed the advice of her family doctor. The night after the seminar she had a dream in which a team of doctors dressed in bright white clothes operated on her heart. She woke up in the middle of the night feeling that the heaviness in her chest had diapered. In the morning, she threw away all her medications as she felt no need to use them any longer. Several days later she went for her regular check up with the doctor who she had been seeing for the past 15 years, and who for years had been recommending her for surgery. After the checkup he told her that her heart seemed to be completely restored and fully functional. Being familiar with her medical history the doctor was amazed how such a thing may occur.
Easter in Bulgaria (May 11, 2003)
At the end of the Easter service we had a prayer for the sick. Several healings took place. A lady from the village with a severe lymph infection that had deformed her whole neck area was momentarily healed as the large nodes on her neck disappeared during the prayer and was witnessed by all present. The following Saturday, May 3, our team led the third Women of Godliness seminar this year organized in the Yambol area. The topics discuss were Mary Magdalene as the first witness of the resurrection and the women which Paul mentions in Romans chapter 16. We were unable to finish the second topic as the Holy Spirit gave a prophetic word to several ladies directing the seminar toward an all night prayer meeting. All through the night God dealt with the people who were praying as several were healed during this time. Since this spontaneous prayer meeting, many have testified of God’s miraculous power.
Pentecost Sunday in Bulgaria (June 16, 2003)
Several miracles happened during the water baptism. A 52 year old lady from the village of Polyana with a ruptured disk who has spent the past several months in a cast was carried to the service to be baptized. She was healed momentarily. A 58 year old man from the Luilin church who has had a similar condition for the past 20 years due to a work injury was healed during the water baptism service as well. A lady with 75% blindness in both eyes received water baptism in the Black Sea. After the baptism she washed her eyes in the sea water with faith and God restored her sight completely. A couple from the Luilin church, who have been separated for several years, took water baptism together and made a commitment to restore their marriage vows. This is the fifth divorced couple whose marriage has been restored under our ministry in the past year.
St. Peter’s Day in Bulgaria (June 30, 2003)
Many of the people of our congregations had been fasting and praying for this event all week. More than 200 people attended. Among them were presbyters and pastors from several congregations from the Yambol region. The meeting had three parts as the opening one was the presentation of the history of our ministry as well as our vision and strategy. Then a message on Christian living was brought in the second part. The third part included several testimonies of God’s power and presence. A great number of healing testimonies were presented as a result of three days of fasting which the people have undertaken. The conclusion of the third meeting included prayer for the sick as people were singing, “There is power, power, wonder-working power in the blood of the Lamb!” We were also able to provide lunch as time of fellowship before the closing of the conference.
Praise Reports from Bulgaria (July 29, 2003)
In the village of Bogovrovo, while the people were eating lunch several remained in prayer for a lady born with both her arm and leg deformed. During the prayer the lady through her cane away and began praising the Lord who had completely healed her arm. The lady is from the village of Polyana and she has been attending our services there for several months now. It had not rained at all in the village this spring. Several years ago as they experienced similar draught they called on our team for prayers. As we prayed for the village the weather suddenly changed and it rained for about 10 days. As the draught repeated this year several people in the village suggested they call on our team for prayer. The mayor of the village sarcastically noted that things like these are impossible. As our team arrived to Polyana, the people immediately asked us to pray for rain. It happened in exactly the way the village mayor had mocked. As we prayed outside the Orthodox Church building it started to rain. The whole village gathered around us to observe4 our prayer and to rejoice for what God had done.
August Ministry Report (August 30, 2003)
We have had a very successful month of ministry. Although we have been pressed by the hot weather our team traveled regularly and we again held over 100 services in July. We are continuing to receive healing reports from our training conferences in June and July. The people who were healed during the services have been examined by doctors as their deliverance has been certified by medical records. Some of them have traveled with our teams to different churches to testify in the services for their healing miracles. This has brought an extraordinary anointing and faith in the services and has helped in bringing a great number of new converts. So far ten miracles have been reported as follows:
- Tonka Dimitrova (age 31) from Zimnitsa healed from breast cancer.
- Velichka Panaiotova (age 68) from the village Vodenichane was healed from ulcer she had for more than ten years.
- Penka Boeva (age 68) from Lulin had a fractured shoulder seven years ago that did not heal properly and a pinched a nerve disabled the control over her right arm and developed into Parkinson. She was healed instantly.
- Shtilqna Paskova from Leyarovo (age 70) had a tumor in the left arm since the age of 23, severe kidney infection and osteonecrosis in the right leg. She was healed at the water baptismal service.
- Stoiana Dimitrova (age 70) with an atrophied right arm for 11 years was healed instantly.
- Maria Zheliazkova (age 66) from Bogorovo with long-term osteonecrosis – healed instantly.
- Genka Zlateva (age 40) from Polyana with muscular atrophy with a pinched nerve unable to move for 1Ѕ years, was brought to the meeting and was healed after the prayer.
- Todorka Atanasova (age 58) from Leyarovo with a severely damaged third spinal vertebra was healed after the meeting.
- Ginka Petrova (age 65) from Leyarovo with constant migraine and headache conditions since the age of five was healed at the water baptism service and reports that she has no headache since.
- As we reported in the last newsletter, our churches united in a prayer for rain. We provided a copy to each member with a special prayer calling on all believers, Protestants, Orthodox, Catholics, Jews and even Muslims, to ask God for rain. As a result, in the month of July every village where we minister has been blessed with abundance of rain.
Revival Harvest Campaign (September 5, 2003)
Among the several healing reports which we received in September one stands out among the rest. It is the testimony of a 68-year old lady who had been sick for many years. After supporting her in a 21-day fast in the middle of the night she felt a strong electrical power going through her body and heard a voice that told her, “Go and testify, God healed me, God healed me, God healed me. Needless to say she did not go back to sleep that night. Early in the morning she went to the doctor who after a thorough check-up certified a complete healing of the disease.
25 Years of Miracles: 2002
Week 22 of Mission BULGARIA 2002 (January 13-20, 2002 – Sofia, BULGARIA)
This past Sunday we traveled to Pravetz for a coordinating meeting with pastors and members from the area. In the small upper room 64 were present not only from Pravetz but also from the towns of Botevegrad, Yablanitza, Etropole and I brought a short message on the Parable of the Prodigal Son, after which we had prayer for healing. People were coming to the front crying and kneeling wherever they found a place to receive prayer by the pastors. There was hardly any room to walk around the pulpit, as God poured out His Spirit and many were touched.
Week 24 of Mission BULGARIA 2002 (January 17-February 2, 2002 – Sofia, BULGARIA)
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. 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.
Week 24 of Mission BULGARIA 2002 (February 3-10, 2002 – Sofia, BULGARIA)
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.
Reporting from Bulgaria (October 1, 2002)
We have had services every day since July 9, 2002. Our team was able to start a new church in the Nedaialsko village. At first we began our meetings in the Orthodox temple there. As the congregation is growing rapidly, we believe for miracles among the younger people in the village. In another village, Kamenetz, the mayor sent us firewood to prepare for the coming winter. He and two other men cut and split the wood themselves and now we are ready for the winter. We have 5 services every week in that village. The believers have organized a continuous chain fast and prayer as God has answered many prayers, healed and given miracles in various situations. They are also very committed in helping our team.
December 2002 Day by Day Ministry Report from Bulgaria (December 31, 2002)
December 1: Dinner at the Gipsy church of Apo, Yambol
Services in Alexandrovo, Polyana and Kamenetz (65 miles traveled)
December 2: Services in Polyana, Kamenetz and Leyarovo (80 miles traveled)
December 3: Regular radio broadcast and Bible study seminar at Kamenetz
(60 miles traveled)
December 4: District service with people from Polyana, Kamenetz, Saransko and Leyarovo (60 people present/ 86 miles traveled)
December 5: Services in Lulin, Bogorovo, Polyana and Kamenetz (80 miles traveled)
December 6: Services in Blatetz (44 miles traveled)
December 8: Services in Alexandrovo, Polyana and Kamenetz (65 miles traveled)
December 9: Services in Polyana and Kamenetz and Leyarovo (80 miles traveled)
December 10: Regular radio broadcast and service at Kamenetz (60 miles traveled)
December 11: Services in Kamenetz (65 miles traveled)
December 15: Services in Kamenetz (65 miles traveled)
December 16: Services in Alexandrovo, Polyana, Kamenetz and Leyarovo (83 miles traveled)
December 17: Regular radio broadcast and service in Kamenetz (65 miles traveled)
December 18: Service in Kamenetz (65 miles traveled)
December 19: Services in Lulin, Bogorovo, Polyana and Kamenetz (80 miles traveled)
December 21: Services in Lulin (65 miles traveled)
December 22: Services in Alexandrovo, Polyana and Kamenetz (65 miles traveled)
December 23: Services in Leyarovo (86 miles traveled)
December 24: Regular radio broadcast and service in Kamenetz (65 miles traveled)
December 25: Christmas service in Kamenetz (65 miles traveled)
December 26: Christmas service in Lulin (73 miles traveled)
December 27: Christmas service for the churches of Saransko, Tamarino and Lulin (110 present)
December 29: Services in Alexandrovo, Polyana and Kamenetz (65 miles traveled)
December 30: Home prayer service in Yambol because of heavy snow
December 31: Home prayer service in Yambol because of heavy snow
25 Years of Miracles: 2001
Week 7 of Mission BULGARIA 2001 (September 30 – October 6, 2001 – Sofia, BULGARIA)
We had two meetings in Varna – on Saturday night in the largest auditorium in the city and on Sunday morning in the Evangelical Pentecostal Church in town. More than 3,000 attended. The Lord touched us all, as the Gospel was preached. Many were healed and testified in the services.
Week 8 of Mission BULGARIA 2001 (Week 8 – October 7-13, 2001 – Sofia, BULGARIA)
On Saturday we had two meetings in the largest auditorium in Bulgaria at the National Palace of Culture. More than 7,000 attended as people came with buses from their local churches. More than 150 Church of God congregations were represented, as many of the visitors were from other denominations as well. We preached, prayed worshiped and ministered to the people throughout the whole day, as the Lord confirmed his Word with miracles and healings. The services continued on Sunday as well. At the later service some 300 men, women and children gave their lives to Christ. More than 40 people testified that they have been healed since we started the series of crusades four weeks ago. The most amazing fact is that God touched children who testified of their healing.
Week 9 of Mission BULGARIA 2001 (Week 9 – October 13-20, 2001 – Sofia, BULGARIA)
My further work has daily included a few hours as coordinator at the Bulgarian Church of God Headquarters in Sofia and the participation of the last four crusades organized in the cities of Lom, Samokov, Varna and Sofia. The numbers total to more than 300 saved and 40 healed.
Week 14 of Mission BULGARIA 2001 (Week 14 November 17-24, 2001 Sofia, BULGARIA)
I had to take a trip to my hometown Yambol this week to check on the ministry of the mission team there and to renew my driver’s license. On the way back to Sofia on Friday, we stopped at a town called Sliven nearby Yambol. As mother and I walked in the street a lady in her mid 40s stopped us and asked if we recognized her. I did not, but mother did and even remembered her name, Maria. Maria attended the church in Yambol a few years ago when I served as an associate pastor there. She had a large tumor-like mass in her back and the doctors urged her to let them operate. In one on the services, she said, I prayed for her and the Lord healed her. As she went back to the doctors a few weeks later, they could not find even a trace of a tumor or cancer formation.
Week 15 of Mission BULGARIA 2001 (November 25 – December 1, 2001 – Sofia, BULGARIA)
This past Wednesday night (November 28) we had the best church service since I have come back. About 150 were present and I preached on Revelation chapters 14 and 15. The text finished with the passage about the glory of God. Then God touched us. At the altars people were crying everywhere, kneeling and falling on their faces. Four were healed – one from severe headache, one from pain in the kidneys, one from heart problems and one from pain in the lower back. I praise the Lord for all these and expect even more reports.
Celebrating 25 Years in the Ministry
We’ve completed another successful term of ministry for 2015 marking a decade since the start of Mission BULGARIA in 2005 and also our 25th anniversary in the ministry. From humble beginnings in September of 1990, God has taken us to a full quarter century of ministry literally throughout the globe.
As the Thanksgiving season is now upon us, we will be commemorating this event more extensively with a series called “25 Years of Miracles.” The series contains testimonies with various healings and miracles from our ministry, which we’ve collected and recorded through the years.
We are grateful to the Lord for giving us the opportunity to preach the Gospel and be a part of your life through our ministry. Thank you for your partnership and friendship through the years and Happy Thanksgiving!
95 Years Ago Voronaev Set Sail on a Pentecostal Mission to Europe
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Rev. Ivan Voronaev’s last letter to Assemblies of God headquarters in Springfield, Missouri was received by Rev. J. Roswell Flower on June 22, 1920 and was marked “He plans to return to Russia.” The letter outlined Voronaev’s six-point mission strategy:
- he was leaving with his family and some brothers from New York to Russia on July 13, 1920 on the steamboat “Madonna”
- Voronaev trusted the Lord for the finances necessary to complete the mission
- First Russian Assembly of New York was poor and unable to meet the ministry expenses
- Voronaev was unable to get in touch with Assemblies of God missionaries Johnson and Schmidt
- but planned to preach in Russia
- finally, the group had decided to purchase Russian Bibles and New Testaments in New York to take to Russia.
The group included the families of Voronaev, Zaplishny, Koltovich, along with V. Klibik and N. Kardanov from Ossetia. They could only purchase tickets for the deck, which proposed problems for the children during the cold ocean nights. According to Voronaev’s later records, the group set sail from New York on July 15, 1920 (thou Martha C. Zaplishny- Jackson recalls July 8th or 17th in various statements). The only standing proof for the exact departure date is the ship’s records with the French Fabre Line.
Madonna sailed via Marseille in France and Naples, Italy. The group’s trip to Europe included a stop in Greece before reaching Constantinople on August 10, 1920. Both Voronaev and Zaplishny’s children have pictures from visiting “several other Balkan countries,” thou not well documented and quite improbable. Consecutively, when the Zaplishny family had to flee Bulgaria in 1924, they used the same route taking a train to Cherbourg, France and then a boat to New York’s Ellis Island.
Through all these difficulties, Voronaev reached Bulgaria by the end of 1920 and Odessa in the U.S.S.R by August 12, 1921. The movements his mission started from Varna to Vladivostock were Pentecostal pioneers for this part of the Old World. By the time Voronaev was arrested in 1930, over 400 Pentecostal churches with 20,000 members strong were started by his ministry throughout Eastern Europe.
Read about the legacy of Ivan Voronaev:
- Ivan Voronaev: The Death of a Hero is a Legacy to Remember
- Arrest and Imprisonment of Rev. Ivan Voronaev (1930)
- Arrest and Imprisonment of Ekaterina Voronaev (1933)
More about the Voronaev’s children:
Ivan Voronaev in the historical archives:
- Finding Ivan Voronaev (a.k.a. John Voronaeff) at the Graduate Theological Union of Berkeley, California
- Letters from Bulgaria: Overview of Rev. Ivan Voronaev’s Correspondence
20 Years of the Bulgarian Church of God in Chicago
July 10, 2015 marks the 20th anniversary of the first service of the Bulgarian Church of God in Chicago in 1995.
We have told the Story of the first Bulgarian Church of God in the Untied States (read it here) on numerous occasions and it was a substantial part of our 2005 dissertation (published in 2012, see it here).
From my personal memories, the exact beginning was after Brave Heart opened in the summer of 1995 and the Narragansett Church of God closed the street for a 4th of July block party with BBQ, Chicago PD horsemen, a moonwalk and much more.
The first service in the Bulgarian vernacular was held Sunday afternoon, July 10th 1995 being the true anniversary of the Bulgarian Church in Chicago. Only about a dozen were present and the sermon I preached was from Hebrews 13:5. Unfortunately, to this day 20 years later, we cannot locate the pictures taken that day to identify those present. And some have already passed away.
Using a ministry model that later became a paradigm for starting Bulgarian churches in North America (see it in detail) the church grew to over 65 members in just a few weeks by the end of July. This was around the time the movie Judge Dread had opened and the first edition of Windows 95 was scheduled for release in Chicago. I saw them both at the mall on upper Harlem Boulevard.
The Bulgarian Church of God in Chicago followed a rich century-long tradition, which began with the establishing of Bulgarian churches and missions in 1907. (read the history) Consecutively, our 1995 Church Starting Paradigm was successfully used in various studies and models in 2003. The program was continuously improved in the following decade, proposing an effective model for leading and managing growing Bulgarian churches.
Based on the Gateway cities in North America and their relations to the Bulgarian communities across the continent, it proposed a prognosis toward establishing Bulgarian churches (see it here) and outlined the perimeters of their processes and dynamics in the near future (read in detail).
After a personal xlibris, the said prognosis were revisited in 2009 in relation to preliminary groundbreaking church work on the West Coast and then evaluated against the state of Bulgarian Churches in America at the 2014 Annual Conference in Minneapolis.
We’re yet to observe the factors and dynamics determining if Bulgarian churches across North America will follow their early 20th century predecessors to become absorbed in the local context or alike many other ethnic groups survive to form their own subculture in North America. We will know the answer for sure in another 20 years…
12 Benefits from Walking in the Desert for 40 Years
1. You lose excessive weight you don’t need
2. You lose treasures/gold you thought you needed
3. You go on God’s diet
4. You learn your true friends/brothers and sisters
5. You learn to trust God daily
6. You learn to keep walking
7. You see your enemies defeated by God
8. Walking in the desert takes you to the top of God’s mountain where you meet God
9. Your children receive the Promise Land
10. There is a generational genetic cleansing of unfaithfulness. When the faith of a generation grows, the faith of the nation increases
11. You learn to walk in unity or you get lost and die alone
12. You begin to appreciate the small things in life (like bread and water)
Bibliata.com Celebrates 15 Years of Ministry on the World Wide Web
One of our websites, which we use daily in our ministry, Bibliata.com is now 15 years old. Through these years it has become an icon of one generation and we celebrated its birthday with a great mega youth rally for the southeastern region of Bulgaria.
We are thankful to all who supported us in this ministry endeavor through the years and the ones who came to celebrate this spiritual birthday with us at the New Generation Church in the city of Dimitrovgrad. Among them were longtime Bulgarian friends and partners in the ministry from the churches in Sofia, Haskovo, Sliven, Plovdiv and Yambol.
Celebrating 20 Years in the Ministry
During the month of September, our ministry is celebrating 20 years in the ministry. I was saved in my hometown of Yambol Bulgaria on August 9, 1990 and baptized with the Holy Spirit seven days later. In two weeks time God called me to preach and I preached my first sermon one September Friday at the Church of God in the small mountain town of Pravetz, Bulgaria. Fourteen were present at the meeting. The Bulgarian Church of God was still underground. Little I knew that only a few months later, the youth group of the church would count over 100 strong and growing, the Berlin Wall would have had fallen and revival would’ve been on the way. That night in Pravetz Bulgaria I just preached a sermon from the Word. That same Word, which God still claims cannot return void. For Revival must go on …
Our story has a humble beginning working with small Pentecostal-holiness groups in the Bulgarian mountains and growing the Pravetz Church of God youth group to over 300 members in a city of 5,000. And thus our ministry moved forward: from the storefront churches of Bulgaria to establishing the Bulgarian congregation of Chicago; from the backwoods Bulgarian villages to postgraduate level research; from the old red back hymnal to the latest technological invention; from hitchhiking to the charter flights and using any transportation necessary to get to the Sunday morning service and minister. We have done whatever needed to be done for the ministry to go on in Bulgaria and abroad. But we never forgot where we came from and we have faithfully kept on returning to minister to our humble beginnings…
At age 20 a ministry is not an old veteran, but just starting in its prime. We are both convinced and committed toward a new level of ministry in 2010 in a new spiritual realm. With this vision in mind, we have present the Bulgarian Church of God a dynamic strategy for the next five years of its development and ministry. We invite you to partner with us in payer and fasting for this endeavor.
90 Years of Bulgarian Pentecostalism
Bulgarian Pentecostal believers celebrate 90 years of ministry and history. The Bulgarian Pentecostal movement is rooted in the Azusa street holiness Pentecostal revival which began in April of 1906. The revival then spread through the United States and less than a decade later, large Pentecostal denominations as the Church of God and the Assemblies of God were formed embracing the vision to send missionaries to foreign lands.
After establishing contact with the World Missions Department of the Assemblies of God at the end of 1919, Cossack born immigrant, who later took on Ukrainian citizenship, Ivan Voronaev received a calling to return to his motherland and preach the message of Pentecost there. Alongside him traveled the family of Ukrainian immigrant Dionissey Zaplishny and his Bulgarian born wife Olga, who like Voronaev left the church they pastored in the United States to obey the call to missions.
On March 10, 1920, Assemblies of God issued Voronaev a certificate as a “pastor and evangelist in Bulgaria” valid till September 1, 1921 and on June 22, 1920 Voronaev notified them his plans to set sail for Russia with his family on July 13, 1920. On the said date, the Voronaev, Koltovitch and Zaplishny’s families set sail on the “Madonna” steamboat from New York to Constantinople. Along with them traveled a group of Kavkaz believers among which was Bulgarian Boris Klibok.
After arriving to Constantinople, they had to wait for visas to enter Russia. Voronaev immediately began meeting with the Russian community in town recognizing the lack of Russian Bibles and Pentecostal churches. He wrote on August 15, 1920: „ ….with the help of God opened Russian mission here [Constantinople], and God our work blessed;” and on August 30, 1920: „…. we had first baptism with water in river. I baptized one lady wife of a Russian office. Glory to Jesus!”
After waiting for three months in Constantinople, Voronaev arrived in the Bulgarian port city of Bourgas along with Bulgarian Boris Klibok. The Zaplishny family had already established their ministry there through Olga’s Congregational home church. What followed next was a revival that made history.
March 5, 1921: The Pentecostal Evangel published Voronaev’s report from Bulgaria where he has been holding Russian-Bulgarian revival services in various churches in the cities of Sliven, Yambol, Varna and Sofia. Seven received the baptism with the Holy Spirit.
April 16, 1921: The Pentecostal Evangel published Voronaev’s second report from Bulgaria about services in Sliven, Bourgas, Plovdiv and the Baptist Church in Stara Zagora where the daughter of the Baptist pastor from Kazanlak received the baptism with the Holy Spirit.
May 14, 1921: Services in the Congregational Church in Plovdiv and baptismal service in the Martiza River.
June 11, 1921: „In Bourgas, Bulgaria the Lord baptized with the Holy Spirit about fourteen souls. We have about twenty candidates for baptism with water, and about thousand Bulgarians and Russian were there and were much interested.”
July, 1921: The Latter Rain Evangel published an article under the title “Pentecost in Bulgaria” in which Voronaev wrote about new Pentecostal believers in seven Bulgarian cities, his relocation in Varna to work with the local Methodist church and his plan to move to Odessa. The Pentecostal Evangel from the same month wrote, “God called Brother J.W. Voronaeff, who had charge of a Russian Pentecostal Assembly in New York City, to Russia.”
The early Bulgarian Pentecostals spoke in other tongues, embraced the gifts of the Spirit, practiced foot washing and conservative holiness, and received the Bible as their rule of life almost to the point of ritualistic ascetism. It was their prayer, preaching and serving before the Lord that ensured the future of the movement. Many of them would be forced underground when the Pentecostal Union is registered with the Bulgarian State in 1928. Others will be persecuted even unto death during the Communist Regime after WWII. The more conservative group split right down the middle by two strong leaders, Tinchevists and Borisovtsi would protect the faith to the best of their abilities. Many modern religious formations, among which the Bulgarian Church of God, would spring out from these grassroots of these holiness seeking Pentecostal Puritans. By 1990, after the Berlin Wall had fallen, this group of people will go through the largest evangelistic revival in Bulgaria since the Christianization of Bulgaria in 861AD.
