Record Group

Bulgarian

86/4/2

Personal papers--Stefanov, Stefan.
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Dossier prepared by the Bulgarian secret police. [Bulgarian]

191 p. ; 28 cm.

Stefan Stefanov (1948-1988), a deacon in the Assemblies of God church in Shumen, Bulgaria, was persecuted by the communist government in the 1970s and 1980s. Stefan's father, Nikola, had started the Shumen congregation in the late 1940s and was imprisoned following the infamous Pastoral Trial of 1948-1949. The communist government, aiming to stamp out Christianity, labeled his son, Stefan, a 'fanatic' because he refused to compromise his faith. The secret police told Stefan that he must not allow children to attend church services, which were held in his house. He refused to obey, was beaten numerous times, and was placed under house arrest and exiled to surrounding villages for three years (1975-1978). Shortly before he died in 1988, Stefan received a prophecy that he would not leave Bulgaria, but that his testimony would travel around the world through his sons, Borislav and Nikolai. After the Bulgarian communist government fell, Borislav went to the archives of the secret police and was allowed to photocopy his father's dossier. Nikolai deposited a copy of the dossier at the Flower Pentecostal Heritage Center.

The dossier includes confiscated personal correspondence, transcripts of intercepted phone conversations, and reports from informants.

Stefanov, Stefan.
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Assemblies of God--Bulgaria--Clergy.
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Pentecostals--Bulgaria.
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Persecution--Bulgaria.
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12/04/2017