How we began…
Our story begins in 1948 after the communist occupation of Bulgaria, a land called “Little Russia.”
At 4 a.m. on July 24, 1948, Dr. Haralan Popov, a prominent pastor, was arrested by the Bulgarian Secret Police on false charges of “being a spy” for the United States and Great Britain. In a world publicized “show trial” of 15 arrested pastors, after Stalin’s brainwashing technique and intense torture, Haralan confessed to being a “spy.”
Pastor Popov spent more than 13 years in 16 communist prisons and concentration camps for his uncompromising faith in Jesus Christ. Despite tremendous suffering and torture he continued his work for God inside the prison to reach fellow prisoners.
His only crime was being the pastor of the largest Protestant church in Bulgaria.
A Dedicated Wife
Haralan’s wife, Ruth, a Swedish missionary, followed her newly-wed husband to Bulgaria. Now, at the arrest of her husband, left with two small children in a strange land, her struggles began. She was marked as “the wife of a spy” and therefore not to be employed or helped and forbidden to leave Bulgaria. After three difficult years, through the help of the Swedish government, she finally received permission to return to her homeland with her two children, Rhoda and Paul.
Heartbroken to have left her husband behind, she became dedicated to help him and the other imprisoned pastors. Upon her arrival to Stockholm, Sweden, Ruth began ministering in churches across Scandinavia and Great Britain. She spoke about her husband’s imprisonment and torture and of the plight and needs of Christians behind the Iron Curtain.
She encouraged Christians to organize prayer groups and petitions on behalf of her husband Haralan and other imprisoned pastors and Christians.
A Miraculous Release
After Haralan’s release from prison on September 24, 1961, despite assurances by the communist government telling him “you will never be allowed to leave Bulgaria,” through a miraculous release, Haralan was reunited with his family in 1963. He immediately focused all his energy to inform the world of the plight of persecuted Christians and to bring God’s Word into communist countries where Bibles had been confiscated and burned.
Haralan’s vision was clear, to be “A Voice and a Helping Hand” to the Persecuted Church.
Pastor Haralan Popov’s amazing testimony of Christian courage is recorded in his autobiography, I Was a Communist Prisoner and in the best seller, Tortured For His Faith.
Radio Broadcasts Behind the Iron Curtain
Haralan began broadcasting God’s Word behind the Iron Curtain through Transworld Radio-TWR and IBRA with the support from The Slavic Mission in Sweden and churches in England, Norway, and Denmark. He was the first person to broadcast the Gospel message in the Bulgarian language, despite the Communist’s efforts to jam his broadcasts. Listeners behind the Iron Curtain were blessed, and members of the Bulgarian church he had faithfully served received encouragement. More than half of his sermons were specifically preached to the atheists and unbelievers that “God does exist.”
Still, Haralan’s heart remained torn for his fellow-countrymen and the prisoners still suffering in cells he once shared. He wanted to do more.
Bible Printing, Distribution
In 1972, after moving to America, Haralan founded Evangelism to Communist Lands (ECL), now Door of Hope International (DOHI).
DOHI began Operation Jericho, a Bible printing ministry to secretly distribute Bibles behind the Iron Curtain. 100,000 Bibles and New Testaments were printed and smuggled behind the Iron Curtain. This film encouraged people to pray that the Word of God would penetrate and bring down the modern wall of Jericho.
Through our New Testament Letter Ministry project, more than one million New Testaments were distributed into Bulgaria, Romania, Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union.
DOHI began a Bible Courier Program through which thousands upon thousands of Bibles and Christian literature were “smuggled” behind communist borders in specially prepared vehicles. For the 1980 Moscow Olympics, DOHI printed and secretly delivered into Russia, 500,000 Russian New Testaments, disguised by a cover depicting the Olympic Torch.
Open Bible Study Bibles: A major undertaking was translating, printing and distributing Thomas Nelsons Open Bible-Study Bible in Bulgarian, Romanian and Russian languages. These Bibles were later dubbed as the “Portable Bible School” for pastors.
DOHI has produced Children’s Bibles and song books in various languages, the Haley’s Handbook in Romanian and the Chinese Spoken Bible.
Religious Freedom
Many of DOHI’s staff were immigrants escaping from communist oppression resulting in DOHI often being at the forefront of the immigration movement in the Soviet Union. Concentrating on about 1,000 of the most extreme cases of Christian persecution, we generated Prayer and Action bulletins which documented specific needs. A worldwide prayer chain flourished into fervent bases of support.
From 1967-1975 we attended Senate hearings, protested at the World Council of Churches headquarters, worked with the Human Rights Commission, and made great strides with the Helsinki monitoring group. President Reagan relied on our extensive knowledge and invited Haralan’s son, Paul, to the White House in order to assist his speech writers preparing the speeches the U.S. president delivered. Reagan often referred to the lack of freedom and the persecution of Christians in “The Evil Empire,” USSR.
Our courier network secretly brought sponsorship invitation documents to the West for Soviet families. One of the first two families became known as the Embassy Seven when they stormed the American Embassy in Moscow and made world news. DOHI published a book, Let My People Go, featuring the Embassy Seven which later became a film with Efrem Zimbalist Jr. and broadcast on TV throughout the United States.
A Beloved Pastor Returns
Haralan Popov yearned to once again see his homeland, Bulgaria. For twenty-six years he had been separated from his native country and the people he loved so much. God made a way for his dream to come true.
Despite his 81 years and failing health, Haralan enjoyed a wonderful visit back to Bulgaria. When he walked into the Sunday morning service of the church he had previously pastored for many years, a young brother rose to offer the elderly man of slow, unsteady gait his seat. As Haralan sat, tears streaming down his face, praising God, a man sitting next to him stared at him with astonishment. Word quickly spread throughout the church and people began to weep. Haralan Popov, their old pastor and friend had returned!
On November 13, 1988, a few weeks after returning from his beloved Bulgaria, Haralan Popov died. After more than 50 years of ministry, he went home to his Heavenly Father.
