Christ the Savior Church, Vidin
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"Christ the Savior" is a Catholic church building in the port city of Vidin, Bulgaria on the Danube river. It is part of the Nikopol Diocese of the Roman Catholic Church and is a parish church.
History of the Parish[edit]
Catholic roots in Vidin date back to the 14th century, when the Kingdom of Hungary took control of Vidin for a short time, and in the following years an attempt was made to impose Catholicism on a mass scale in the region. A diocese and a Franciscan monastery were established on the territory of the Tsardom (empire) of Vidin.[1] Also, Tsar Ivan Sratsimir (Strashimir) (Ioanes Stratimerius) included representatives of the Catholic family Kneževići-Parčevići in the circle of his high boyar entourage. One of the sons of the founder of the family in the Vidinian lands – Parchia Knežević is Andrey Parčević. He was the envoy of the Vidin ruler in the court of the Hungarian king Louis I, while the second son Nikolay Parcevich, who is a continuation of the family in the Vidinian State, took part in the Chernomen battle against the Turkish invasion as early as 1371. Later Nikolay Parcevich moved with in Chiprovets.[2] Peter I Parcevich is his son. He took an active part in the attempts of Emperor Constantine of Vidin to regain the possessions of his father Sratsimir during the dynastic infighting around the Turkish throne at the very beginning of the 15th century. The famous Catholic bishop of the 17th century, Petar Parčević, is the fifth-generation successor of Petar I Parčević through the Cherkichi-Parcević family branch.
The old parish in Vidin was founded in 1895. Father Stanislav Petrov was the first priest appointed to the parish. In 1896, the Passionist Petar Jurovic opened a Catholic private German-French school in Vidin. The number of parishioners is too unstable, with a clear tendency to decrease in the first half of the 20th century. In 1922, the Catholics in Vidin were 200. After 20 years in 1943, they were 50.[3] At that time, the parishioner was the Hungarian father Hruza.[1] and there was a small Catholic church in the city.[4] After September 9, 1944, the foreign clergy were expelled from Bulgaria and due to the lack of a parishioner, the parish ceased to exist.
In 2011, 271 people from Vidin self-identified as Catholics.
On May 7, 2016, in the city, the bishop of the Nikopol Diocese, Petko Hristov, proclaimed the decree for the resumption of the parish. The service was presided over by Bishop Hristov, together with the parish priest of Vidin, Father Plamen Gechev, and Fathers Yaroslav Bartkievich, Venci Nikolov and Paolo Cortesi.[5] At the same time, several families from Italy settled in the parish.[1]
Parishioners[edit]
- Father Stanislav Petrov (1895-)
- Father Plamen Genov (2011-)
History of the church building[edit]
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The construction of the church building began in 2007 as a private initiative. The church building is being built solely with the funds of Mr. Borislav Lorinkov. The church building has an area of 1100 square meters and is located in the industrial part of the city. Meanwhile, a chapel in the city, dedicated to Saint Emet - a martyr from Vidin from the 3rd century, is used for the services.
Dedicated holiday - May 7.
References[edit]
- ^ a b c "Католическа енория - Видин". Archived from the original on 2018-01-07. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
- ^ "Чипровските родове Парчевич, Пеячевич,Кнежевич и Томагионович". Intidar (in Bulgarian). 2010-06-20. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
- ^ Елдъров С, Католиците в България (1878 – 1989). Историческо изследване. София, 2002 г.
{{cite journal}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ "Отец Пламен Гечев: Прошката е това, което прави християнството голямо". dariknews.bg (in Bulgarian). 2016-04-01. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
- ^ "Статуята на "Дева Мария Царица на Европа" в България". www.archivioradiovaticana.va. Retrieved 2024-03-12.
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43°57′15″N 22°51′09″E / 43.95415°N 22.85255°E
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