Two Pastors Bulgarian
led to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) a local government campaign, which labels evangelical churches as cults and warns children to stay away from them.
In 2008, the City Council of Burgas, together with the police, sent a letter to all school administrators in the City. In the letter, they made accusations against evangelicals and instructed faculty to “inform” children of the danger they pose, as well as provide written feedback.
The government never rescinded the letter or apologized. “There is nothing to stop something like this from happening again,” warned Robert Clarke, deputy director of ADF International and co-advisor to the ECHR.
The European Court of Human Rights decided to hear the case. On December 9, 2021, ADF International, a legal defense organization that supports Christians, filed a petition with the ECHR, responding to the Bulgarian government’s arguments in defense of its actions.
“When it’s about religious freedom, the government’s job is to respect it. However, in Bulgaria you have the exact opposite. The government has decided that the theology and beliefs of non-orthodox Christians are illegitimate and so has warned an entire city against them,” said Robert Clarke.
“War on the Cults”: the false accusations of the government
In 2008 , the City Council of Burgas, together with the police, sent a letter to all school administrators in the city.
In the text, they accused the Protestants of “carrying out a massive campaign of agitation”, “deceiving new members” and “ to disunite the Bulgarian nation”. They also claimed that cult-goers were at risk of suffering “aberrations and mental disorders”.
Students were asked to report if they had ever met someone from one of the mentioned groups. The government also provided material to the press to generate coverage of what became known as the “War on the Cults.”
“When we read the letter, we were shocked because after the fall of communism, we thought we could share the Gospel freely. At the same time, the media also started to say that we are sectarians and we do dangerous services and that people should be very careful”, recalls Pastor Radoslav Kiryakov.
In Search of Justice
Pastor Tochev and the Pastor Kiryakov went to court to contest these charges. Their case is now being heard by the European Court of Human Rights.
“Religious beliefs are part of the dignity of being human and must be respected. The government’s actions in this case were reckless and caused significant damage to the ability of the pastors I represent, Tonchev and Kiryakov, to exercise their religious rights,” said Viktor Kostov, a lawyer allied with ADF International, who represents pastors before the ECHR.
“Over the years, I believe we are gaining confidence again. But with these lyrics, they easily tear down everything we’ve tried to build. With the help of Viktor Kostov and ADF International, we believe this case can be good for our society, for Christians and for our nation,” said Pastor Zhivko Tonchev.
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