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100-year-old beggar celebrated as living saint in Bulgaria

Agence France-Presse
Monday, June 2nd, 2014


The 100-year-old Dobri Dobrev, known as “Grandpa” Dobri, begs for alms in the porch of the golden-doomed Alexander Nevski cathedral, in the center of Sofia, on April 20, 2014. In a country ravaged by poverty and corruption, a centenarian beggar is celebrated as a saint: the ascetic “Grandpa” Dobri has spent over twenty years begging for the Church. AFP

SOFIA – A 100-year-old beggar in a threadbare coat, “Grandpa” Dobri, is already celebrated as a saint in Bulgaria- a symbol of goodness in a country ravaged by poverty and corruption.

For over 20 years, Dobri Dobrev has been begging on the streets of Sofia, collecting alms worth tens of thousands of euros. And he has given it all to the Bulgarian Orthodox Church.

This has made him the largest private donor of the golden-domed Alexander Nevski cathedral even as he maintains an ascetic lifestyle.

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‘Richness of his soul’

Dobri is a comforting figure to Bulgarians amid pervasive corruption and deprivation, sociologists say.

“While the media is full of scandalous reports on the luxurious lifestyle of certain Church dignitaries, Grandpa Dobri personifies moral values such as self-denial and generosity,” said Theodora Karamelska, a sociology professor at Sofia’s New Bulgarian University.

For Bulgarians, he is like a saint “thanks to his romantic appearance and the richness of his soul,” she added.

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“In the past 20 years, he has devoted himself to collecting alms.”

She affectionately calls him “Grandpa” Dobri and often helps him count the money he has collected.

The old man lives in a small room basically furnished with a bed and a table next to the church in Baylovo, which was renovated with 10,000 leva donated by him. A neighbour or another helper gives him a ride when he needs to go to Sofia.

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Graffiti artists recently painted a huge image of the white-haired man holding a candle on a 10-storey building in a Sofia neighbourhood.

An Internet site – www.saintdobry.com – and two pages on the social media Facebook created by his fans praise his “goodness, honesty, purity, generosity and holiness.”

Certain admirers have already suggested that Dobri’s saintliness should eventually become official with a canonization.

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/
with additional images from www.saintdobry.com

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