The UMC in Bulgaria

The following excerpt is from a booklet printed by the Central Conference of Central and Southern Europe of The United Methodist Church and was printed in 2005.

In 1859 the first Methodist missionaries came to Bulgaria from the USA. They established churches, helped with the first translation of the Bible in modern Bulgarian and opened schools for girls as well as schools for boys. This turned out to be an enormous contribution toward educating the population. The ministry of the Methodists grew but it constantly came across persecutions and resistance. he communist regime, from 1945 till 1989, was the darkest period in the existence of the United Methodist Church in Bulgaria. Many pastors were arrested, imprisoned, oppressed and even killed. The Religious Law at that time proclaimed religious freedom, but in reality it made sure that no church activity would be possible. Most of all the Church in Bulgaria was forbidden to have any official contacts with the worldwide Methodist family.

After the political changes (1990) there were only three churches left in the country and the pastors were either old or already deceased. But the Methodist ministry was reorganized and the international contacts were renewed. From that time on the Church started to grow. However, it never forgot that it was a minority Church. A living proof of this is the fact that it is consciously preaching the gospel to Turks, Gypsies and Armenians.

The goal to share God's love in words and deeds empowers the carrying out of many diaconal projects, such as social kitchens, literacy projecs, medical services, counseling in prisons or work with children and youth in need. Alongside all this the publishing of books is of great importance - not only the publishing of Bibles but also the publishing of many other books that help for the understanding and application of the Bible.

Though sometimes it is not obvious, many people in Bulgaria are poor. Yes, their situation has deteriorated tremendously since 1990. That's why the existence of the Church in this country and its fruitful ministry is a real challenge.