Abstrakt
The book is concerned with the history of the Protestant missions in Bulgaria, their evangelistic, educational and literary activities, and offers a case-study of a specific Czech-speaking Protestant community in north-western Bulgaria. The history of the Protestant missionary work is followed since the 19th century when it was established in the territory of the Ottoman Empire, to the foundation of the missions of the Congregationalists in southern Bulgaria and the Methodists in the northern Bulgaria.
The role of American missionaries and linguists like Albert Long and Elias Riggs in the translation of the Bible into modern Bulgarian is discussed, as well as reactions of the Bulgarian people toward American missionaries and their evangelizing efforts. A case-study of a specific Protestant community in Bulgaria is represented by an analysis of the religious life in the former Czech village of Voyvodovo, which once represented one of the biggest Methodist congregations in Bulgaria.
The authors have conducted their fieldwork both in the Bulgarian village of Voyvodovo and in the south Moravian villages, where the former Voyvodovo villagers settled after their relocation to Czechoslovakia after WWII. Based on the interviewing of the former Voyvodovo villagers, as well as on the extensive work with archive sources, they offer a detailed discussion about the key elements of the Voyvodovo villagers' faith in the period 1900-1950.
The story of the Voyvodovo congregation is put into the context of the history of Protestantism in Bulgaria in the 20th century, which includes the infamous trials with Protestant pastors, persecution under socialism, and restoration of the Protestant churches in 1990s.