Samuel Dzhundrin, AA (26 April 1920 – 19 March 1998) was a Bulgarian Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Nicopolis from 1978 to 1994. He was a member of the

Assumptionists The Assumptionists, formally known as the Congregation of the Augustinians of the Assumption (; abbreviated AA), is a worldwide congregation of Catholic priests and brothers. It is active in many countries. The French branch played a major rol ...

Early life

Dzhundrin was born in what is now the town of Rakovski. After the fourth section, he was sent to study in the

Yambol Yambol ( ) is a city in Southeastern Bulgaria and administrative centre of Yambol Province. It lies on both banks of the Tundzha river in the historical region of Thrace. It is occasionally spelled ''Jambol''. Yambol is the administrative cente ...

seminary, from 1931 to 1934. After finishing school, he joined the Plovdiv

Seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

. In 1939, he went to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

and spent a year completing his

novitiate The novitiate, also called the noviciate, is the period of training and preparation that a Christian ''novice'' (or ''prospective'') monastic, apostolic, or member of a religious order undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether ...

under the Augustino-Assumptionist Fathers in the city of

Nozeroy Nozeroy () is a commune in the Jura department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Jura department The following is a list of the 492 communes of the Jura department of France. The com ...

. From 1940 to 1944 he studied philosophy and theology. For health reasons, he moved to and continued his education in

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, where he received his priestly ordination on 4 June 1944.

Career

In 1947 he returned to Bulgaria to teach in St. Augustine college in

Plovdiv Plovdiv (, ) is the List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, second-largest city in Bulgaria, 144 km (93 miles) southeast of the capital Sofia. It had a population of 490,983 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is a cultural hub ...

. The government liquidated the college in 1948, causing him to move to

Northern Bulgaria Northern Bulgaria (), also called Moesia (, ''Mizija'') is the northern half of Bulgaria, located to the north of the main ridge of the Balkan Mountains which conventionally separates the country into a northern and a southern part. Besides the B ...

with Father Chonkov Assen. Bishop

Eugene Bossilkov Eugene Bossilkov, CP (born Vincent Bossilkov 16 November 1900 – 11 November 1952) was a Bulgarian Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Nicopolis from 1947 until his execution by Bulgaria's communist regime in 1952. He was a member of the ...

appointed him

parish priest A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

of the villages

Bardarski Geran Bardarski Geran (; Banat Bulgarian: ''Bardársći Gjeránj'' or ''Bardáre'') is a village in northwestern Bulgaria, part of Byala Slatina Municipality, Vratsa Province. It is among the several villages founded by Banat Bulgarians returning from ...

and Bregare. Father Assen was put on trial in 1952 and was sentenced to 12 years in prison. Father Dzhundrin returned to Plovdiv with him. Assen served his sentence in camps at

Belene Belene ( ) is a town in Pleven Province, Northern Bulgaria. It is the administrative centre of the homonymous Belene Municipality. The town is situated on the right bank of the Danube river, close to the town of Svishtov. Geography Locati ...

and

Stara Zagora Stara Zagora (, ) is a city in Bulgaria, and the administrative capital of Stara Zagora Province. It is located in the Upper Thracian Plain, near the cities of Kazanlak, Plovdiv, and Sliven. Its population is 121,582 making it the sixth largest c ...

, and left in 1961. In Plovdiv, Samuel found that there was no spiritual work available. Thanks to a former acquaintance, he was accommodated in the village of Kaloyanovo as assistant parish priest. There, on 14 December 1978, he received the papal appointment to

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Diocese of Nikopol The Diocese of Nicopolis () is a Latin diocese of the Catholic Church, which includes the whole northern part of Bulgaria. The seat of the episcopal see is in Rousse, although the diocese is named after Nicopolis ad Istrum. The diocese is imme ...

. He was ordained on 27 May 1979 in

St. Peter's Basilica The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican (), or simply St. Peter's Basilica (; ), is a church of the Italian High Renaissance located in Vatican City, an independent microstate enclaved within the city of Rome, Italy. It was initiall ...

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

, with

Cardinal Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

s Duraysami Lourdusami Simon and Eduardo Martinez Somaly. For 15 years he managed the diocese, until he retired in 1994 due to health issues. He lived for a year with his fellow-Augustino Assumptionist Fathers, then returned to the Diocese of Nikopol, and finally again to Plovdiv. He died suddenly on 19 March 1998.

References

* *

External links

Catholic Hierarchy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dzhundrin, Samuel Augustinian bishops 1998 deaths 1920 births 20th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Bulgaria People from Rakovski