BOSSILKOV, EVGENIJ, BL.

Bishop, first blessed of Bulgaria, and first martyr of the Communist era; b. Belene, Bulgaria, Nov. 16, 1900;d. Sofia, Bulgaria, Nov. 11, 1952. Given the name Vincent at birth by his Latin-rite family, he took the name Evgenij (Eugene) after receiving the habit of the Passionist congregation in Ere (Belgium) in 1919 where he had gone for novitiate and further seminary studies after his minor seminary years in Oresh and Rousse in Bulgaria. He was ordained to the presbyterate in 1926 and sent to Rome for further education at the Pontifical Institute for Eastern Church Studies (P.I.O.S.) where he received a doctorate after defending the thesis "The Union of the Bulgarians with the Church of Rome at the beginning of XIII Century" (1931). Bossilkov returned to Bulgaria where he was assigned first to the office of Bishop Damian Theelen of Nicopolis (Rousse) and later put in charge of St. Joseph's parish in the large Catholic village of Bardarski Gheran (1934). Bossilkov initiated a new style in dealing with parishioners, often going well beyond strictly spiritual needs, reaching out toward non-Catholics, especially among the intellectual and professional leaders throughout the country. He played soccer with the youth (for which petition has been made to name him patron of soccer) and hunted in the countryside with the adults.

After the Communist takeover in September of 1944, Bossilkov suffered the limitations imposed by the atheistic regime on the country and on the Church in particular. Documents indicate that he was shadowed by the intelligence service of the Communist underground long before the end of the war. When Bishop Theelen died in 1946, Bossilkov was appointed an administrator of the diocese. The following year he was named bishop. During this period, he worked closely with the apostolic delegate, Francesco Galloni, until the latter's expulsion from the country in December of 1948. At that point, persecution of the Church was escalated; all Catholic institutions were separated from the Church, religious orders were disbanded, and many priests and religious were arrested, questioned, and sent to prison. In 1952 a series of trials, some behind closed doors, deprived the Church of practically all able clergy.

In one of the trials, held September 30 to October 4, 37 ecclesiastics were sentenced to prison, while four— Kamen Vichev, Pavel Djidjov, Josaphat Shishkov, and Bishop Bossilkov—received death sentences. The evidence brought up during the examination of Bossilkov's cause shows that the real grounds for his harsh sentence was his refusal to head a schismatic national church. Half a century elapsed before documents could be produced (1992) that proved the execution had been carried out late in the night of Nov. 11, 1952. Bossilkov's grave is unknown, though his blood-stained shirt and pectoral cross were later returned to his family.

The canonization process was initiated in the West by the order of the Passionist Fathers in 1985. However, the regime in Bulgaria, not having recovered from the international uproar over their alleged connection with the attempt on the life of the pope (May 13, 1981), put great pressure on the Bulgarian bishops in the country. They in turn convinced church authorities in Rome to suspend the process (December 1985). When the political climate changed and normal diplomatic relations were established between Bulgaria and the Holy See in the summer of 1991, Bishop Samuil Djoundrin of Bossilkov's native diocese made formal petition that the process be resumed. Bossilkov was beatified March 15, 1988 by Pope John Paul II.

Bibliography: Canonizationis seu Declarationis Martyrii Servi Dei Eugenii Bossilkov, C.P. Positio super Martyrio (Rome 1993). pierluigi di eugenio, Beato Eugenio Bossilkov. Morire per la fede (Teramo 1998). giorgio eldarov, Bossilkov. Collection of articles in: Abagar (Bulgarian Catholic Journal ) 3 and 4 (1998) (in Bulgarian).

[g. eldarov]