Haralan Popov

March 7, 1907-Nov. 13, 1988: Dr. Haralan Popov a Protestant minister who spent 13 years in Bulgarian communist prisons on false charges of treason, later founded "Door of Hope International," a Christian relief and development organization.

Biography

Popov was born in the tiny Bulgarian village of Krasno Gradishte. Although initially an atheist, Popov became a Christian as a teenager. In 1929 he was accepted as pastor in the Bulgarian Pentecostal Church. Shortly after attending Bible School in London, he married a Swedish woman, Ruth Pernevi. He returned to Bulgaria before the outbreak of World War II.

In the early morning hours of July 23, 1948, in the capital city of Sofia, he was arrested on charges of espionage against the state (NY Obituary, "New York Times"). After eight months in prison Popov, and other ministers who had been arrested with him pleaded guilty under duress and were sentenced to 15 years in prison ("NY"). Popov spent the next 13 years and two months in prison. He was released on September 25, 1961 and joined his family in Sweden a year later.

After moving to the USA in 1970, Popov founded the "Door of Hope Mission" now know as "Door of Hope International" to bring Bibles and relief to oppressed countries. He recorded his testimony and prison experiences in his autobiography "Tortured For His Faith: An Epic of Christian Courage and Heroism in Our Day."

In October 1988, during Glasnost, and for the first time in 26 years, Popov was permitted by Bulgarian authorities to visit the church he pastored in Bulgaria. He died Nov. 13, 1988, of complications related to cancer, in Glendale, California ("NY").

Notes

References

*cite news
last =
first =
coauthors =
title = Obituary: Haralan Popov, 81, Priest Jailed by Bulgaria
work = New York Times
pages =
language = English
publisher =
date = November 22, 1988
url = http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=940DE0D71430F931A15752C1A96E948260
accessdate = 2007-01-24
*cite book
last = Popov
first = Haralan
authorlink =
coauthors =
title = Tortured For His Faith: An Epic of Christian Courage and Heroism in Our Day
publisher = Zondervan June 1980
date = June 1980
location =
pages =
url =
doi =
isbn = 0310312620

External links

* [http://www.dohi.org/ Door of Hope International official website]