| Haralan Popov | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 7, 1907 Krasno Gradishte, Bulgaria |
| Died | November 14, 1988 (aged 81)[1] Glendale, California, United States |
| Nationality | Bulgarian |
| Occupation | Minister |
| Religion | Pentecostal Christianity |
| Spouse | Ruth Popov |
| Children | Paul Popov Rhoda Linna |
Haralan Popov (March 7, 1907–November 14, 1988) was a Protestant minister who spent thirteen years in Bulgarian communist prisons on charges of treason. He later founded Door of Hope International, a Christian relief and development organization.[2]
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Haralan Popov was born in the small Bulgarian village of Krasno Gradishte. Although initially an atheist, Popov 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. He returned to Bulgaria before the outbreak of World War II.
In the early morning hours of July 23, 1948, in the capital city of Sofia, he was arrested on false charges of espionage against the state.[1] After being brainwashed and tortured for eight months in prison, Popov, and other ministers who had been arrested with him pleaded guilty under duress. Popov was sentenced to 15 years in prison.[1] He spent the next 13 years and two months tortured in prisons and concentration camps. He was released on September 25, 1961 and joined his family in Sweden a year later. The Bulgarian government has since apologized for the wrongful sentence.
After moving to the United States in 1970, Popov founded Evangelism to Communist Lands Inc., now known as Door of Hope International to bring Bibles and relief to people in oppressive countries in 1972.[2] He recorded his testimony and prison experiences in his autobiography Tortured For His Faith: An Epic of Christian Courage and Heroism in Our Day.
In October 1988, during Glasnost, and for the first time in 26 years, Popov was permitted by Bulgarian authorities to visit the church he pastored in Bulgaria.[2] He died the next month on November 14, 1988 in Glendale, California of complications related to cancer.[1]