Founding a Bulgarian Orthodox parish thousands of kilometers away from the homeland is no easy task, especially when the Bulgarian diaspora is scattered across vast distances. In Bulgaria we take for granted that every neighborhood in a large city has a church with regular services. Abroad, however, the priest is welcomed with special joy and hope—as a spiritual father. For he not only breathes life into the parish, but also builds an invisible connection to our deep Orthodox roots—right there, on foreign soil.

With this mission in his heart, more than 27 years ago, Father Julian Angelov left Vidin and settled in Berlin to take part in building our church community there. 

''In the beginning, we didn’t have a church”, says Father Julian in an interview for Radio Bulgaria’s podcast ''Bridge of Faith'', dedicated to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church Community in Berlin. “We moved from place to place because we didn’t have our own church, and during that time, the parish gradually began to form. It took about 7 or 8 years to bring it together. I was younger then and didn’t even notice how, over the first ten years, the number of people in the church grew from 7 to 70. Today, we have many parishioners. More than 100–120 people attend Sunday liturgies, which is quite a large number for this region. There are people who come regularly for confession, and there are many children. There are families who observe the fasts and live a true parish life'', said Julian Angelov.

Father Julian Angelov is one of three priests serving at the Cathedral Church ''St. Tsar Boris the Baptist'' in Berlin. He describes his decision to leave the parish of the ''Church of St. Nicholas'' in Vidin and move to Germany as ''God’s work''. He happened to learn that priests were being sought for the newly established Western European church community and decided to go. At first, he traveled back and forth between Bulgaria and Germany, but eventually settled in Berlin.

''My work here is a mission and the difference with Bulgaria is huge. There, you wait for people to come to the church. Here, in Berlin, you move between hospitals and prisons'', says Father Julian.

Speaking about drawing young people to faith, he emphasized the importance of action such as helping translate for mothers of children with cancer in hospitals, for instance.

''Some children survive, others don’t and they become witnesses to such realities of life — this is what parish work is all about. Whoever has come to the parish has always rushed to help. Even those who weren’t very involved with the church life at home quickly become part of it here. The work is very intense. There are all kinds of cases, but we try to help first and foremost those who have found themselves in desperate situations — people who have lost their documents and money and have no idea where to turn. We always offer assistance, and there are quite a few of them. Some have been deceived. They were told there is work and housing waiting for them. They arrive having spent their savings on the journey, but in the end, they have nothing. Some have suffered violence, others have walked kilometers on foot without shoes. I have seen feet so wounded from walking that you can hardly imagine. For such cases, we have a team of doctors who help us free of charge. We also have young translators who provide their services voluntarily.

As for the financial resources, those who have gone through the trials themselves also join in collecting them. “Everyone helps one another, and it all works out”, says Father Julian, explaining:

''God helps a lot. Sometimes we take on big commitments that later seem impossible to fulfill. The next day you start out a bit disappointed, on the third day a bit desperate, and on the fourth day, things somehow get better. I don’t know how. That’s why we should move forward with courage'', said Father Julian.

Published and translated by Kostadin Atanasov

Photos: private archive; Darina Grigorova