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Document Details :

Title: The Hardships of the Greek-Catholic Church in Bulgaria after the Second World War
Subtitle: A Brief Historical Outline on the Occasion of the Beatification of Three Bulgarian Assumptionists on 26 May 2002
Author(s): GROEN, Bert
Journal: Journal of Eastern Christian Studies
Volume: 54    Issue: 3-4   Date: 2002   
Pages: 245-268
DOI: 10.2143/JECS.54.3.1076

Abstract :
In this article the historical context of the sufferings of the four Bulgarian martyrs that were murdered by communist regime in 1952 (Kamen Vi?ev, Josafat Šiškov, Pavel Džidižov, and Evgenij Bosilkov) is sketched in broad outlines. The author concentrates on the Byzantine-rite Catholic Church although because of the close links and intertwining ties between the Byzantine and Latin rite within the Roman Catholic Church of Bulgaria, the Latin rite can no be disregarded. Further in order to show that only the Roman Catholic Church was targeted, the hardships of the other denominations is also briefly discussed. Firstly, the take-overof teh Bulgarian state by the communists and their attitude towards religion is described. Then, the consequences for the religious ccommunities in Bulgaria, in particular the Roman Catholic Church, is examined. Next, the new situation that arose after 1989 and figures on the denominations in Bulgaria is considered. Finally, some observations are made on Greek-catholic suffering, cooperation between Byzantine and Latin rites, and ecumenism.