Haralan Popov

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Dr. Haralan Popov (7 March 1907 - 13 November 1988), was a Protestant minister who spent 13 years in a Bulgarian prison on charges of treason. He founded Door of Hope International a Christian relief and development organization.

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[edit] Biography

Popov was born in the tiny Bulgarian village of Krasno Gradishte. Although initially a dedicated atheist, Popov was 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 23 July 1948, in the capital city of Sofia, he was arrested on charges of espionage against the state.[1] After eight months in prison Popov, and other priests that had been arrested alongside him, pleaded guilty and were sentenced to 15 years in prison.[1] Popov spent the next 13 years and two months in jail. He was released on the 25 September 1961. He was reunited with 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". He recorded his experiences in a prison testimony: Tortured For His Faith: An Epic of Christian Courage and Heroism in Our Day.

In October 1988, just after Glasnost, and for the first time in 26 years, Popov visited his Church in Bulgaria. He died on 13 November 1988, of complications related to cancer, in Glendale, California.[1]

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ a b c Obituary, New York Times

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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