Faith in the suitcase of the heart – Gergana Georgieva from Ireland

We present to you an inspiring story about the unquenchable Bulgarian spirit, about the Orthodox faith that we carry from our homeland in the suitcase of our hearts. Gergana Georgieva has been building a career in Dublin as a software engineer for the national airline of Ireland. In a frank conversation, the Bulgarian born in Kyustendil takes us through her journey and the determination of building a Bulgarian Orthodox Church Community – a church built not of stones, but of human souls and destinies.

This year, Bulgarians in Dublin celebrated Easter together, with a solemn liturgy, and Gergana shares with Radio Bulgaria and the podcast "Bridge of Faith" her excitement and dream of regular church services in her native language.

"This has been my dream since day one, since I set foot on Irish soil. Because wherever a person is, they always carry the faith with them," she says. "There is nothing better than hearing Bulgarian, becoming part of a Bulgarian celebration with our traditions for Easter, for Christmas, for St. George's Day. I am Gergana and for St. George's Day I would like to go somewhere where I can enjoy Bulgarian customs and greet each other in Bulgarian."

After 13 years of living abroad, it is interesting to understand how Gergana managed to fill the void of the lack of a Bulgarian church and church community.

"Basically, for the holidays, we Bulgarians gather somewhere in parks or other places and celebrate together. And for the spiritual - in Dublin we usually use the Greek church, which until recently we could go to and it is the closest to us. But the Bulgarian church is always with us. I always carry with me Saint George and the Holy Virgin, so faith is always with me," she says.

We recall the words of Metropolitan Anthony that the Church is the people and that in addition to God's will, a desire on their part is required. In this sense, the question is whether she personally has the will and determination to do everything so this community can exist.

"Absolutely. I will help with whatever I can, with a happy heart, to make this work happen, because I know it sounds like a cliché, but where there is a Bulgarian, there is Bulgaria. So, the more Bulgarians we get together, the better it will be and we will be able to deal with this. I know it is a great responsibility and that there are many steps. I have also spoken with Ambassador Vanya Andreeva and I don't think it is impossible. We just have to get together and we have to work together," Gergana says.

By the way, there are parishes of several local Orthodox churches in Dublin, but only the Greek Orthodox Church and the Russian Church have temples.

Our interviewee also said that she works with people of many different nationalities and the interest in Bulgarian church service among her colleagues has been surprisingly high. Most of Gergana's colleagues are Irish Catholics, but among the emigrants there are Serbians and Romanians who do not have their own permanent churches and have shown a strong interest in Bulgarian church services.

"There are many people around me. Not only Irish, but also from other nationalities. And when I told them that there would be a Bulgarian service, they all wanted to come. There are also many mixed couples who want to show their loved ones our Orthodox traditions, our Orthodox faith. And I hope there will be a wedding, a baptism soon…"

This is an essential part of life in a church community – to experience both joys and sorrows together. It is important to continue to gather on Sundays for liturgy and to attract new people so that the community can grow and strengthen. And how does our compatriot see the newly formed community in a year or five?

"Let there be weddings and baptisms, let the church be full, so that these wonderful hymns, these prayers can sound. They are a balm for the soul," Gergana Georgieva answers.

As long as there is a desire, this church community will also exist. Everything else will come as God will add what they lack:
"It depends on us. No one else can come and do it for us so we can just use it. We have to build it ourselves. It has always been that way and it will always be that way," she says.