One more soul, a brother in the faith of Jesus, was baptized last week, on August 9, 2026, in the Zlatna Panega river near Lovech, Bulgaria, and was added to the Bulgarian Field at the IMS, well informed sources confirmed. Pastor Dimitar Vlachkov, Bulgarian Field President, performed the baptism. The daily temperature at the Zlatna Panega river varied between 26 and 30 degrees Celsius on August 9, 2026, which was, of course, the perfect weather for a Christian baptism.
Lovech, a city in north-central Bulgaria, located located about 150 kilometres (93 miles) northeast of the capital city of Sofia, has a population of 27,910 inhabitants, as of the 2022 census, and an area of 70,001 square kilometers (27,028 sq miles). Lovech is known with its great number of lilac bushes, presenting a wonderful view in the spring; due to this, Lovech is called the town of the lilacs. In addition, Lovech is famous with its beautiful Covered Bridge, built in 1874, with an initial length of 84 m, by the legendary Bulgarian builder and architect Kolyu Ficheto (1800-1881), however, as it was wholly destroyed by fire on the night of 2 to 3 August 1925, a new bridge was built in 1931, while the current 106 m long version of the bridge was a reconstruction of of Kolyu Ficheto’s design in 1981–82, completed by architect Zlatev.
Written by Margarit Zhekov
Pastor Dimitar Vlachkov, together with his wife, Sister Yanka Vlachkova; a photo from the personal archive.
