In Sofia's South Park, one of the favourite places for many Sofians to walk and relax, the bell tower of the unfinished building of a church dedicated to the holy protomartyr and archdeacon Stephen, can be seen standing in solitude. Its construction, conceived as a three-level cross-domed basilica, consisting of a church, a parish centre and a crypt, has been halted due to lack of funds. It is planned to gather the inhabitants of three districts of the capital Sofia - "Gotse Delchev", "Strelbishte" and "Ivan Vazov", who have been hoping to be able to celebrate the church holidays together for 16 years now.

Instead, a chapel sheltered in the bell tower of the unfinished basilica has been serving as a gathering place for the parishioners. It is dedicated to St. Maximus the Confessor and can barely accommodate 20-30 people, but the laity do not lose hope that the construction of the Saint Stephen Church will continue. "There is no other church nearby and I hope that next year the joy will come to us and this majestic church will be completed," says Priest Ivan Ivanov, who also serves in the chapel to St. Maximus the Confessor and also in the rotunda to St. George the Victorious in the centre of Sofia.

Filip Vitanov, however,who has been serving in the chapel with Father Ivan as a subdeacon for two years, does not hide his bitterness:

"My biggest pain is that the temple dedicated to the Holy First Martyr and Archdeacon Stephen has not been built for more than 15 years. Last year, the board of trustees and the Sofia Bishopric received half a million levs from the government for the completion of the construction, and I call on the Fathers in the Sofia Holy Metropolitan to give the laity an account of when the construction of this beautiful church will finally begin”.

In the current crisis and the rise in prices for construction materials, the allocated funds, which cover only one-eleventh of the amount needed for construction, are extremely insufficient. However, the parish has been growing and with the need for spiritual life and comfort in the days of trial:

"In the beginning there weren't many people and it was very difficult," Father Ivan recalls. “Now, with each passing day, with each liturgy, more and more people begin to come and a new church community begins to emerge. There has been a Sunday school for children for four years. On the temple holiday, dedicated to St. Stephen, they perform a program - sing songs, recite poems. Finally, we give them symbolic gifts to rejoice”.

Snezhana Decheva is the person who engages in the activities with the children, trying to teach them to accept the difficulties and lessons in life with a smile:

"With God's help, we gather with the children of the parish. We are talking about God, about living with God, about behaving and living according to God's laws. We try to keep their consciences awake, to be condescending to one another, to love and glorify God. We try to teach them to be grateful for everything. For the good and for the bad - for everything that God gives us, because it is for our understanding and our salvation. God cares for us”.

Many of the boys in the temple are subdeacons who help the priest during the liturgies. After the first part of the liturgy all the children go down to the parishioners’ centre, where they stay until the end of the Holy Liturgy and indulge in painting. The plot is determined by the parable in the Gospel, which they listen to from the interior of the temple. Thus, the children continue to be participants in the Liturgy and express their experiences on a white sheet of paper. At the end of the service, they go back to the adults for communion. When the service is over, they show the adults their works.

English version Rositsa Petkova