Bulgaria: Church Chronology

July 30, 1899 • Constanța, RomaniaArgir Dimitrov, a Bulgarian working in Turkey, accepted the gospel and was baptized by Mischa Markow, a missionary who preached the gospel throughout eastern Europe. Markow and Dimitrov later briefly preached in Sofia before being banished by local authorities.

February 28, 1934 • Salt Lake City, UtahEvangeline Kokotanova Coy, a Bulgarian convert living in the United States, produced the first manuscript translation of the Book of Mormon into Bulgarian (followed by the Doctrine and Covenants in 1937 and Pearl of Great Price in 1941).

1960s–80s • Europe and AfricaBulgarians living in various countries joined the Church. After the end of the communist era, some returned to Bulgaria.

February 13, 1990 • Sofia, BulgariaElder Russell M. Nelson dedicated Bulgaria for the preaching of the gospel.

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September–November 1990 • Pravets, Smolyan, Sofia

Six senior missionaries and four young missionaries arrived in Bulgaria to teach English classes and participate in service.

November 24, 1990 • SofiaSix local converts were baptized.

July 1, 1991 • SofiaKiril and Nevenka Kiriakov presided over the newly created Bulgaria Sofia Mission.

July 1, 1991 • SofiaThe Mladost and Sofia Center Branches were organized.

July 10, 1991 • SofiaThe Church was officially recognized by the Bulgarian government.

November 1991–March 1993 • BulgariaBranches were created in Sofia, Plovdiv, Burgas, Varna, Shumen, Ruse, Veliko Tarnovo, Blagoevgrad, and Dobrich.

February 1992–May 1993 • SofiaHumanitarian services missionaries Lynn and Beverly Nelson worked with Bulgarian leaders to coordinate exchanges between education and medical experts from the United States and Bulgaria to benefit Bulgarian children.

June 12, 1993 • SofiaRelief Society sisters held a visiting teaching convention at the Pancho Vladigerov National Academy of Music, with 135 women in attendance.

August 20–26, 1995 • Freiberg, GermanyThe first group of Bulgarians, a total of 36 adults and 3 children, traveled 1,800 kilometers (30 hours nonstop one way) to the Freiberg Germany Temple, completing ordinances for themselves and 250 ancestors.

July 19, 1997 • SofiaMembers and missionaries from Sofia contributed approximately 800 hours of service to clean, mow, weed, trim, and paint a children’s slide and play set in two public parks.

1999 • BulgariaThe Book of Mormon was published in Bulgarian.

June 17–18, 2000 • Plovdiv and Sofia, BulgariaMembers broke ground for a new Church meetinghouse in Plovdiv. The following day, Bulgarian Saints met in Sofia to celebrate the completion of a newly renovated Church building that would serve as a meetinghouse, mission office, and home for the mission president’s family.

March 18, 2001 • PlovdivChurch members in Plovdiv celebrated the completion and dedication of the first Church-built meetinghouse in Bulgaria.

Summer 2003 • PlovdivMembers of the Plovdiv Branch participated in the making of a film, A Week with the Faith, eventually shown on national television and seen by as many as 400,000 people, about different facets of life as a Latter-day Saint.

August 27, 2010 • Kyiv, UkraineBulgarian youth participated with other Latter-day Saints from around eastern Europe in a cultural celebration for the dedication of the Kyiv Ukraine Temple, attended by Church President Thomas S. Monson.

2011 • BulgariaBoth districts in Bulgaria were discontinued along with many branches. All branches in the Sofia area were merged into one branch.

June 2014 • Varna, BulgariaMany young Latter-day Saints and missionaries from the Church assisted in cleanup efforts after significant flooding and landslides in the city.