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… I left Corfu and the 8th quadrennial meeting of the International Congregational Fellowship to spend the next four days in Sophia. While there, I was wonderfully hosted by the families of Rev. Christo Kulichev and the Rev. Danail Ignatov, current president of the Union of Evangelical Congregational Churches.

Bulgaria is a very beautiful country. Its ancient history is epic and complex. Modern times reveal a place and people in the throes of many changes – political, economic, and religious.

Democracy’s recent coming to a land long under Communist rule is a story still being written. Most of the people are (still) poor. Most of them live in cities, and all of them have been challenged by “the changes.” Those I met were thoughtful and full of faith - eager to share the stories of their lives, eager to share the story of their churches, and eager to learn of their brothers and sisters in our churches in the West.

I spent my first day with Danial, touring Sophia. We spent the day wandering the capitol, visiting museums, and touring cathedrals. After visiting the UECC’s “mother church,” we drove to the top of Mt. Vitosha for a panoramic view of the city – a breathtaking expanse that is home to more than 1 million people.

On my second day, we traveled 100 miles to Plovdiv, another beautiful city, and the cradle of the Union’s churches. Outside, in the courtyard of the Plovdiv church, are the headstones/markers of 19th century Congregationalists who first gathered the people together. It was there I learned of the significant role that Congregationalists played in the worship and educational lives of generations of Bulgarians. From Plovdiv, we traveled to Debar, the site of one of the newest Union churches, a vital and growing ministry to believers and Muslim families in that vicinity.

On day three, I traveled to Velingrad, a mountain resort, with Rev. Blagovest Nikolov, the chairman of the UECC Board. The Union has a church of many years in Velingrad, and just completed an 80 bed hotel/hostel adjacent to the church. A wonderful facility, their hope is to host meetings for their churches, and others, to strengthen the Protestant/Evangelical witness of the Church throughout the region. In a time and season of change, and a country nearly wholly Orthodox, not at all a meager aspiration!

Sunday found me preaching – twice! – in the First Evangelical Church of Sofia. Reverends Kulichev and Ignatov gave place to me for their morning and evening services. A barbeque at the Kulichev’s till late in the evening took me ‘round to my Monday morning plane ride home.

I was greatly encouraged by the people, and the leadership, of the Union of Evangelical Congregational Churches of Bulgaria. They are a brave and faithful people committed to creative ministries. With them, I am grateful for our past, the ties that bind and keep us together. And with them, I look forward to the future -- to a continued and growing partnership -- in prayer, in mission, and ministry.


Rev. John Carson
Associate Executive Secretary