More than 300 people gathered together on September 2, 2023 in Tutrakan, Bulgaria on the banks of Danube River in order to celebrate the 110 anniversary from the establishment of the oldest Adventist congregation in the country. Many members of this congregation now living in other towns of Bulgaria and abroad came back especially for the festivities. I was happy to see even some former Adventists joining the celebration.
Ups and downs mark the history of the oldest Bulgarian Adventist community. It was shared in an emotional presentation of the head elder Lyuben Dimitrov. A certain man went to Tutrakan in 1908 at the latest. In addition to his reading of the Bible, it is also known about him that he was a cobbler by profession, repairing old shoes. His name was Ivan Petculescu. He was the first Adventist in the town. This is a small and insignificant beginning, which, however, far exceeds in results his professional activity. After only about four years, there were already seven followers of the Adventist movement in Tutrakan, and in 1913 ten people were baptized. Thus the congregation grew to 17 people. The group in Tutrakan was visited by some foreign Adventist evangelists who worked here. These are Motzer and Thomas who even worked for two months in the Tutrakan church. Thomas was interned from the city. It is even recorded that he almost fell victim to a plot, without any known details of what that plot was. At that time, Tutrakan was part of Romania, but apparently the Romanian authorities were not very kind to the Adventists either.
The first church building was in the house of one of the local brothers. He provided his home, which was not a harmless act, because some of the fellow citizens of the then Adventist members apparently suffered from neo-phobia and did not look favorably on the church. The windows of the house were repeatedly smashed. Several moves to private homes followed, until finally, during the Communism, the Church was offered a courtyard with a long building. It consisted of a furnace, a barn and a small house at the end.
On September 7, 1940, the Craiova Agreement was signed. As a result of its implementation, some 88,000 Romanians had to leave North-Eastern part of Bulgaria. Respectively, 65,000 people moved from Romania to Bulgaria. This was a serious blow to the church, since at that time the majority of its members were of Romanian origin. The Romanian influence was actually felt long after that. There was a Romanian group where the Sabbath School lesson was taught in Romanian up until 1990-ies. But precisely this moment of crisis for the church had its own positive effect, although not within the borders of the country. Some of the Romanians who immigrated from Tutrakan settled in the city of Oltenica on the Romanian bank of Danube River, where there was no Adventist presence at that time. An Adventist group was established, which had actually previously been part of the Tutrakan SDA Church.
The newly established Bulgarian authorities did not have high regards for the Adventist Church either. In 1942, the place where the believers gathered was closed down by the authorities. The congregation had to split into two groups and meet in other places, until in 1943 members managed to regain the place that had been forbidden for worship.
The record-breaking minister who spent the longest time in the Tutrakan Church was Georgi Chakarov (serving there from 1970 to 1990). The church was viable, although it had many problems. At that time, the authorities forbade children to enter the church. Then the pastor was forbidden to go to the pulpit and deliver sermons. In schools, students were ridiculed for their faith. Other parents who had decided not to send them to school had to pay fines. Many people left the town due to their faithfulness not to send the children to school on Sabbaths.
The prayer house was expropriated. 2 years of immense difficulties followed. The church met in small groups.After a while the church was given a lot in which to build the new house of prayer. Another trouble followed, the building process was stopped and for a long time construction activities were not resumed. Finally, construction of a house of prayer was allowed again, but in a different location. Building materials from one location had to be transported to the other. Huge long panels that were the walls of the church were placed on donkey wagons. One end was placed on the cart but the other end was moved by living power. There were the members of the Tutrakan Church who carried these heavy panels from one place to another. One of those who carried this weight by bare hands said "Our souls were crying".
The construction begun anew and then became evident the advantage of the Tutrakan Church over all other churches –the abundance of the construction workers. Much voluntary labor was dedicated to the building of this church.
The year 1990 came and for the first time political changes favored the church. By 1993, the church had grown to 141 people. At this moment, it was the largest church in Bulgaria; not so much in terms of absolute numbers, but in members/general population ratio.
In 1995, an evangelistic campaign by Francois Huglie took place, which aroused the extraordinary interest of the public in Tutrakan. It was held in a former cinema hall, which was full every night.
In 1997, a long and exhausting activity began: the construction of the house of worship currently in use. Once the head elder that is also the main constructor of the building overheard two of the neighbors talking. One of them expressed his admiration that Adventists were working on both hot and cold days tirelessly. The other one chuckled and added: “They keep guard even during the night. I went there once to get some free materials but four people were guarding the construction area so I dared not steal anything.” However, never during the whole process did Adventists use any guards. God was keeping a watchful eye for His faithful children.
Elder Milen Georgiev, President of Bulgarian Union, was among the pastors serving Tutrakan Church over the years. He related Isaiah experience in his address to the church: “God asks: Whom should I send? in room full of heavenly beings and just one human person. But it is him who hastens to say: Here I am, send me. This is actually the personal dedication: I will go! I will do my best to contribute to the growth of the Church on Earth. God has extended numerous of challenges to the Church. But what He has done for it should assure us in His unstoppable leading. Continue inviting people aboard the Ship of Salvation!
The afternoon program was filled with memories of the ministers serving in Tutrakan over the years, wonderful music of the nearby Silistra SDA Church choir, duets and solos.
Fireworks over Danube River banks marked the end of this unforgettable day.
