Freedom of worship varies for Methodists in Eastern Europe
8/18/1998 News media contact: Tim Tanton · (615) 742-5470 · Nashville, Tenn. NOTE: This story may be used as a sidebar to UMNS #485. Photographs are available.
ST. SIMONS ISLAND (UMNS) - When Mariella Mihailova's parents became baptized, they did so in the dark of night, in the waters of the Black Sea.
When they worshipped, Mariella and her family did so in a "home church" with other families. For them, being Christian in communist Bulgaria meant being part of an underground church.
Today, eight years after the fall of communism, practicing the Christian faith is still difficult, particularly for Protestants. Believers who don't belong to the official state church, the Bulgarian Orthodox Church, are harassed, and Protestant churches are regarded as sects, Mihailova said.
In contrast, the Methodist Church has more freedom in Estonia, another country that until recently was a communist state and part of the former Soviet Union.
Young people from both Bulgaria and Estonia described the church's growth in Eastern Europe during the Sixth International Christian Youth Conference on Evangelism, Aug. 7-12, at St. Simons Island, Ga.
"I come from a country where Christianity isn't taken for granted," said Mihailova, a 27-year-old doctor from Varna, Bulgaria, "where 90 percent of the population would say God doesn't exist."
The first Methodist churches were established in Bulgaria in the last century. In 1947, all of them were closed and the church was forced underground. Under communism, most of the churches were destroyed, pastors were imprisoned, and young Christians were arrested and beaten.
Mihailova recalled that when she was a young schoolgirl, a police officer came to her school and told the children about the "most dangerous book."
"It was the Bible," she said. "I had one in my home."
Families had to resort to burying their Bibles and other Christian literature in their yards, she said.
"To be a Christian will cost you something sometimes," Mihailova said. "There is an effort you have to make, even a sacrifice you have to make. It is not a comfortable life."
Since the fall of communism, the Varna Methodist Church has grown from about 10 people to 315. There are four or five churches in Bulgaria's big cities, plus smaller congregations around the country. Some of the congregations had four or five people when the change in government occurred, Mihailova said.
However, the government and the state church are waging a campaign against Protestant churches, she said. "They claim that we are sects. There is a whole attitude in society against Protestant churches."
Bulgarians had been told throughout the years of communism that God didn't exist, that faith was something for older people or handicapped people, she said. It is still a challenge for many people to accept.
"It is something completely new and different to meet somebody who is a believer and also somebody who is educated."
The youth conference is important, she said, because it makes people aware that God can use them. When she returns home, she will be able to share her experience at the conference and tell others that they are not alone, that many other Methodists around the world are also suffering.
"It's been very important for us and very helpful to know that we are part of a great family around the world."
In Estonia, the impact of communism is reflected in the fact that older people and young adults are more active in the church than middle-aged people.
"We have no middle-aged people in our church," said Thea Kant, 29, part of the youth consulate of the Estonia Methodist Church and a member of the congregation in Voru. Kant's husband is a pastor in the church.
During communism, young people gathered and prayed, and had to discover most things for themselves because of the absence of grown-ups, she said. The government wanted to cut off the growth in the churches, so youth ministries weren't allowed. Many churches had underground Sunday school and youth groups, and camps for young people were held in quiet places in the countryside and labeled as "holiday camps," Kant said.
Unlike Bulgaria, however, the Methodist Church wasn't outlawed, though some other Protestant churches weren't allowed to operate.
When communism fell, the church saw an initial surge in interest, but that tapered off.
"We really have to work hard to reach the hearts of young people and the kids," Kant said.
The past two years have seen growth in ecumenical work in Estonia, as the Christian churches have started working together more, she said.
"Christians must show that they are one and believe in one God," Kant said.
The Estonia church also has received a lot of support from connecting churches in the United States. Connecting United Methodist congregations in Peoria, Ill., Montgomery, Ala., and Tulsa, Okla., provided scholarships for Kant and her small group to attend the youth conference on St. Simons.
United Methodist congregations in America have been instrumental in supporting church growth in Estonia and establishing seminary and leadership training programs there.
The church is experiencing the most freedom it has ever had in Estonia, Kant said. "God really opened our eyes (at the youth conference) to pray more for the other countries.
"We are in a good situation now. We must share what we have and God will multiply it."
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