New members of the Family
SOFIA*
(*The word ‘sofia’ is of Greek origin and means
‘wisdom’)
The divine
wisdom and the ‘signs of the times’
I have been a member of the
European Council for Lay Dominican Fraternities since
2001. We made a plan to support the fraternities, and distributed
the tasks among ourselves and elected the officers. We
elected contact people for sub regions, and I became the
contact for Hungary, Bulgaria, Slovenia, Austria, Romania
and the former Yugoslavia. We heard from Jerry Stookey
OP, our promoter, that there exists a fraternity in Sofia,
Bulgaria, but the country does not belong to any province
and is not yet officially founded. We began writing
e-mails to the Bulgarian Lay Dominicans. They introduced
themselves and we were very glad to hear that there is a
living, active group of people whose intention is to
apostolate in Sofia, in the city that is called
‘Wisdom’.
They
visited fr Jerry in Santa Sabina, Rome. They wished to
join the Dominican Order officially, so they sent letters
to the Master of the Order. They have been waiting for
years for feedback regarding their official foundation.
In
2005 I offered to visit them. Soon I was cordially
invited to join their celebration of consecration of a
new church building. It took place on 22 October, 2005 in
Sofia. I was introduced to the head of the Catholic
church in Bulgaria by the Lay Dominicans in the very
first moment of my arrival at the airport of Sofia,
because the bishop and I arrived by the same plane. The
Lay Dominicans have a good friendship with the bishop and
as we walked out of the gate at the same time, both of us
were greeted there.
I
recognized that this occasion was a historic moment in
the life of the Bulgarian Christians, because this was
the first new Catholic church after the 2nd
World War. It was given the name of Blessed Pope John XXIII,
who is a highly respected saint in Bulgaria, because he
started his Vatican diplomatic representative work there
on 16 October, 1931. Bulgarian people love him very much
and it is important for them that he lived there. A
mosaic of his portrait is on the wall of the new church.
Naming a churchof the Byzantine rite after him is a
strong sign in an Orthodox country. And this Pope
opened the synod Vatican II, which was the ‘sign of the
times’.
 
For a
better understanding of the historical situation I was
given a short summary of the history of the Bulgarian
church
I
quote some parts here:
“The relations of Bulgaria with the
Catholic Church started with the conversion of Bulgarians
to Christianity in the 9th century. This was
determined by the strategic geographical location of the
country at the border between the Eastern and Western
provinces of the Roman Empire. Two years after the
conversion to Christianity adopted from Constantinople,
Prince Boris asked Pope Nicolas I if Bulgaria could join
the Roman Church. In 870 the Ecumenical council in Constantinople
decided Bulgariashould convert to Constantinople.
Bulgarian contacts with Rome were restored in 926 during
the rule of Tzar Simeon. Later Tzar Kaloyan even signed a
religious union with Pope Innocentius III in 1204. Soon,
however, Tzar Joan Assen II (1218-1241) turned again to Constantinople.
Catholic
Church of the Byzantine Rite
The processes of political emancipation
of the people in the Ottoman Empirebecame very strong in
the 19th century. At that time a group of
activists for church independence and separation from Constantinople
dominance promoted the idea for union with Rome. Thus,
Dec 1830 some hundred Orthodox Bulgarians were accepted
by the Apostolic Delegate in Constantinople, Msgr. Paolo
Brunoni. They presented a petition signed by almost 3,000
people asking for apostolic protection. Thus, an act of
union was signed with Romestating Bulgarians’ major
requirements – to have their independent church
hierarchy and schools as per their own education systems
and principles. The union act provided for the
preservation of the Eastern Byzantine Rite. Later on, April
2, 1861, Father Joseph Sokolski was consecrated as
archbishop and head of the Catholic Church of the
Byzantine rite. Pope Pius IX himself did the consecration
at the Sistine Chapel.
According to statistics as of 1887 there
were 18,505 Catholics, i.e. 0.6% of the total population.
In 1910 there were 32,149 Catholics, i.e.
0.7% of the total population. Of these 28% lived in towns
and 71.6% in the country which ratio remained unchanged
up to the 1960s.
In 1921 the three dioceses in Turkey – Constantinople,
Odrin and Thessalonica were closed down. In 1925 Msgr.
Angelo Giovanni Roncalli, the future Pope John XXIII, was
appointed Apostolic Delegate to Bulgaria. Next year, December
5, 1926father Kiril Kourtev was consecrated and he became
the first Exarch of the Byzantine Rite Catholics. Ever
since the Catholic Church in Bulgariahas been constituted
of three dioceses: Nikopolis dioceses with center at
Rousse, Sofia-Plovdiv diocese with center at Plovdiv and
Catholic Apostolic Exarchy with center at Sofia.
Spiritual
life and social activity
Various religious communities have been
present and performed cultural, educational and social
activities in Bulgaria since 18th century –
Frati Minori – Franciscans; Passionists, Redemptorists,
Frati Minori Cappuchins, Assumptionists,
Ressurrectionists, Freres des Ecoles Chrétiennes, Frati
Minori Conventuali, Jesuits, Sisters of Saint Joseph,
Sisters of Sion, Sisters of St. Vincent de Paul, Suore
dell’Annunziata, Benedettine Missionarie – Tutzing,
Carmelite Sisters, Sisters of Eucharist, Sisters of
Mercy.
In 1944 the Catholic community in Bulgaria
had its own colleges, schools, hospitals, orphanages –
all of these set up in late 19th and early
20th century.
After 1944 the Catholic doctrine was
totally rejected by the newly established Communist
regime. In 1952 the Communist regime faked a number of
court trials against Catholics.
Today
The superior body of the Catholic Church
in Bulgaria is the Bishops Conference of the Catholic
Church in Bulgaria. It consists of three bishops: Msgr.
Petko Hristov, of Nikopolis diocese, Msgr. Gueorgi
Iovchev of Sofia-Plovdiv diocese, and Msgr. Hristo
Proikov, Apostolic Exarch and present head of the
Conference.
According to the documents of the Second
Vatican Council (1963) the Catholic Church keeps its
identity but is open for dialogue with other faith
communities and churches.
The Catholic Church has formal contacts
with the Holy Synod of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church as
well as with other church and faith communities.
Data as of 1992:
Total population 8.487.417. Catholics 53074 (0.63 %).
Catholics in towns 37629, in villages 14445.
Geographical distribution: Plovdiv 25303, Pleven 9174, Sofia 4675,
V.Turnovo 4099.
Priests 65, Sisters 90. Communites of
orders 17.
(quotation ends here)
Nowadays
the Catholic Church retains a very special situation in Bulgaria.
Both theByzantine and the Roman rites operate. They are
in good relationship with each other. The Conference of
Catholic Bishops includes churches of both rites. They
live in a minority in an Orthodox country.
I
visited Orthodox churches and Catholic churches of both
rites in Sofia. The richness of the church was beautiful
there.
I experienced during the celebration that
was lead by Msgr. Hristo Proikov, Apostolic Exarch and
head of the Conference (who belongs to the Byzantine
rite) the beautiful unity of different parts of the
church. He celebrated the Holy Mass together with the
bishops of Bulgaria and with a bishop from Romania and
from Macedonia. And even the Lay Dominicans are there
from both rites. Some of them converted from the Orthodox
Church to become Catholic. They live in peace together.
 
The new church is in a modern
architectural style but the Byzantine church style can be
recognized in its harmony. In the end of the ceremony an
Orthodox male choir gave a concert inside the Catholic
Church. Even the former queen of Bulgaria was present
during the celebration. Her Majesty is a Spanish born
Roman Catholic lady who married the former king of Bulgaria.
He does not act as a king, but people elected him to take
part in political life.
During my visit I took part in the
fraternity meeting that started with a Holy Mass in the
old beautiful Catholic parish church of the Byzantine
rite and then we continued praying in the home of a
member. Then we shared our thoughts on different topics
at a nice dinner. I was very happy to meet this group of
very intelligent and enthusiastic, faithful people
(several university teachers, e.g. doing apostolic
mission among colleagues, and one of them translated the
‘Confessions’ of Saint Augustine into the Bulgarian
language). I urged them to write an official request to
the Master of the Order asking for their official
foundation. Immediately after my visit their request was
sent to Rome.
We
had our council meeting in Santa Sabina, Rome between 3
and 6 November. I arrived there on the 1st
of November, on the feast of All Saints. It was a great
possibility to visit Rome, especially the tombs of
Dominican saints. We prayed together on 3 November, on
the feast of Saint Martin of Porres who was canonized by Blessed
Pope John XXIII in 1962. Afterwards I got to know that
the archbishop of Hungary finally, after a long time
signed my Dominican parish’s request asking for support
(written by me on the feast of Saint Catherine of Siena)
on this day, 3 November.
On 4
November our council had a special occasion to meet the
fr Carlos Azpiroz Costa OP, the Master of the Order on
the feast of his patron Saint Charles Borromeo. Blessed
Pope John XXIII after his priestly ordination worked in Bergamo,
Italy. He wrote there the basis for his 5-volume
biography of Saint Charles Borromeo. He must have loved
this saint.
The
Master led the celebration of the Holy Mass. Then we had
a friendly discussion with him. I asked him to give his
official approval for the new Lay Dominican fraternity in
Sofia. He was happy that there exists a new initiative
where the Order is still not yet organized formally. He
said they need to belong to a province that has got an
approved directory for the Lay Dominican fraternities. It
may be the first step toward the foundation of the Order
there. He promised us he would decide which would be the
best solution for the Bulgarian fraternity. I mentioned
him my personal experiences, the good impressions and our
relationship with them.
On 5
November - on the feast of Saint Emeric (11th
century), who was the son of Saint Steven, the first
king of Hungary - we visited together the churchof Saint
Clement. This is one of the oldest parish churches in Rome.
The Irish Dominican Provinceleads the restoration of the
crypt. There are 3 levels inside the building: the
ground floor is used as a basilica. There is a level
(-2), that was a pagan church before Christianity. The
level (-1) was an ancient Catholic church. You can see
the mosaic of Saints Cyril and Methodius, the patrons of Europe
there. It has got an interesting story. The most
important aspects are as follows.
 
As it
is well-known Cyril and Methodius were 2 brothers coming
from Greeceto christianize the South-Eastern part of Europe
in the 9th century. They covered the territory
of the current Bulgariaalso. They wanted to translate the
Bible and the liturgy into Slav language. For this at
first Cyril had to create the written form of this
language that had not existed before. This was the so
called ‘Cyrillic’ alphabet. He was a wise philosopher
and a marvellous translator. They understood the ‘signs
of the times’ in their missionary work, that the
national language of this area should be used in the
liturgy. Let us think that only the synod of Vatican II
(initiated by Blessed John XXIII) could make it happen
all over the world! For this reason they traveled to Rome
to ask the Pope’s approval. And they got the Pope’s
approval.
They
delivered the relics of Saint Pope Clement I to Rome that
they had found in Kerson, in the East before. The
relics were placed in Saint Clement’s church. Cyril
became sick in Rome, died on 14 February in 869 and he
was buried in Saint Clement’s church, where his tomb
can be found on level -1. Wonderful mosaics show their
lives there. A contemporary Dominican is buried also on
this level. Afterwards Methodius returned to his mission
in the Eastern part of Europe, where he became the bishop
of Pannonia (the current territory of Hungary) and
Morva-land (current territory of Bulgaria). Cyril and
Methodius were led by the truth that all nations are
called for salvation by God. For Cyril philosophy was
equal with wisdom, with ‘sofia’ in divine and in
human relations. Wisdom makes human beings similar to
God. ‘Sofia’ was in the centre of Cyril’s thinking.
He considered it important to lead all the people to the
wisdom of God.
It is
well-known that our Father Saint Dominic and his Bishop
Diego wanted to go as missionaries to the same area where
Cyril and Method worked, but the Pope did not give his
permission. It happened in 1206, 800 years ago. They were
sent into France instead to be missionaries among the
heretics. Saint Dominic sent one of his brethren, Paulus
Hungaricus [Hungarian Paul] in 1221, - just before his
death - to the South-Eastern part of Europe to make new
foundations. He founded the Hungarian province in the
same year. In the 13th century there was an
active Dominican life in Hungaryand also in the territory
that belongs today to Romania and Croatia, but the area
of Bulgariawas never reached by the Dominicans till the
present. No province exists there. In Romania there is
not any Dominican presence either. In Turkeythere is a
convent of Italian friars. In Ukrainethere are some
friars and sisters from Poland and Hungary.
Elena, the president of the fraternity in
Sofia reminded me to some of these interesting dates.
The feast of Pope Saint Clement 1 is
on 23 November.
On 24 November – on the feast of
Dominican martyrs in Vietnam - I received a letter
from Germany – regarding the above mentioned request
for supporting our Dominican parish in Budapest – that
as they had received our archbishop’s supporting
letter, it seems that the donation for our emergency
situation will come soon.
The Master of the Order signed the letter
of foundation of the Bulgarian Lay Dominican Fraternity
on 25 November 2005, on the birthday of Blessed Pope John
XXIII, who was born on 25 November 1881 in the diocese of
Bergamo, Italyas Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli. (He died 3
June, 1963 in Rome.) After his ordination he worked in Bergamo.
During our European Assembly in Fognano between 21-27
May, 2001 we visited the monastery of Dominican Nuns in Bergamo,
where we prayed the Rosary together with every branch of
the Order. At the end of this Assembly I was elected to
be a member of ECLDF.
The feast of Saint Catherine of Alexandria
who lived in the 4th century is on 25
November. She was a Lay person well-known of her wisdom,
‘sofia’. She was martyred for her faith. She is the
patron saint of Lay people.
As I mentioned my trip to Rome started on
1 November, on the feast of All Saints and I returned
home from Romeon 6 November, on the feast of the
Dominican martyrs of Japan. The following day the Order
celebrates the feast of All Dominican Saints. I am sure
they All accompanied me and accompany us if we believe in
their support.
We never know where we are led by God,
but we must follow his call, his invitation to any new
places, to any new circumstances. We need to be sensitive
and pay attention to the ‘signs of the times’.
He is the living Wisdom, the living ‘Sofia’,
He always knows where He intends to lead us. During the
year 2005 I had more serious sicknesses and troubles than
you can imagine, even in Rome I fell sick. BUT human
weakness is not a limit for God’s will.
After
reading this true story, are there any readers left who
cannot recognize the ‘signs of the times’?
The new fraternity in Sofia belongs to
the Hungarian Dominican Vicariate.
Congratulations to our Lay Dominican
sisters and brothers in Bulgaria
Let us rejoice in God’s wisdom!
On the feast of Saints Cyril
and Methodius, patron saints of Europe
14 February, 2006, Budapest
Nikolett Muranyi
Treasurer
ECLDF
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