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"Self-excommunicated" from the Church


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"Self-excommunicated" from the Church

From his return to Bulgaria in 1895 to the end of his life Peter Dunov's activity was under continual surveillance, particularly by those who disapproved of it. Well-known journalists kept writing rumours and gossips about his personal life. The most watchful, however, was the Eastern Orthodox church. Although Dunov had open and natural contacts with its representatives, he was often maligned and attacked. But in the dialogue, he valued only the unprejudiced objective thought and the love of truth. He passed over in silence all slander and abuse. The press lashed against him with vicious criticism. He left it unanswered. Instigators came to him. He did not argue with them. He only told his disciples: "Now some priests want to pass judgment on me. To judge me, they should be purer and wiser than me. I tell them: Live not in your own way but in God's way. If you bring brighter light, I am ready to accept it. I am willing to accept all knowledge, I take interest in everything and I am not narrow-minded." On the 14th of May, 1922, he said in his lecture: "Should anyone try to speak the truth today, they would immediately call him a heretic." Then, to avoid hurting the priests who were present, he added tolerantly: "If your teaching yields better results, I will accept it; if my teaching produces better results, I invite you to accept my methods." Peter Dunov's indirect argument with his opponents from the Eastern Orthodox Church became increasingly serious. On the 18th of June, 1922, he tried to explain his work better to his opponents: "Now it is time for culture; we are bringing to Bulgaria a flow, a tide. The Bulgarian clergy, instead of working wisely, instead of using this divine benediction, makes plans how to stop us. They should realize they are placing obstacles for themselves in the first place." The opponents were quick to respond. At their convention in July 1922, the Eastern Orthodox bishops declared Peter Dunov "self-excommunicated" from the Church of Christ. That was fairly oddly formulated, and Dunov never attended the convention to express any such decision. He ignored that, too. "My defense is of God, which saveth the upright in heart," the Scriptures say.

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The Holy Synod in Sofia

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