Introduction / History

Greeks are the descendants of the migrants from the Balkan Peninsula who came to Russia partly in the eighteenth century but mostly in the nineteenth century. This migration was the result of the political situation in the Balkans and the Russian-Turkish wars, leading to considerable movement of the population. The Christian population, oppressed and mercilessly robbed by the government of the Ottoman empire, saw in Russia their liberator from the centuries-old Turkish oppression. They left their homes and followed the Russian army in masses.

In the Russian-Turkish War of 1768-1774, the Greek rebels from Greece fought on the Russian side, and after the war, a considerable part of them settled in Crimea. By the beginning of the nineteenth century, the Greek settlements had lost their military importance. The Greeks who lived in the steppe districts in the Crimea and on the coast used the Tatar language (they were called Greeks-Tatars). The other part, which lived in the mountain regions, preserved their own language, which was a dialect of the modern Greek language. This group was called "Greeks-Hellens."

There is a Greek diaspora in many countries, including Bulgaria. There have been ethnic Greeks in Bulgaria since 700 BC. That diaspora has grown smaller after the demise of the USSR in 1991. Some went to other former Soviet nations while others migrated to Greece, the land of their ancestors.

What Are Their Lives Like?

Greeks are so small in number that they usually blend in with the Bulgarian majority. They eat similar foods and their languages are also similar.

What Are Their Beliefs?

Their religion is Christian Orthodoxy.

What Are Their Needs?

They are religious but lack understanding of the gospel and why they need a close relationship with the living God.

Prayer Points

Pray for the Lord to raise up and thrust out Greek disciples who will make more disciples in Bulgaria.
Pray for Bulgaria s Greek community to hunger for spiritual meat and find it in Jesus Christ.

Scripture Prayers for the Greek in Bulgaria.

References

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greeks_in_Bulgaria
https://history.osu.edu/publications/between-two-motherlands-nationality-and-emigration-among-greeks-bulgaria-1900-1949
https://www.ekathimerini.com/news/50212/the-greek-community-of-burgas/