Abstract
<jats:p>Priest Stefan Tafrov was one of the prominent Bulgarian clerics during the second quarter of the 20th century – a neomartyr and confessor of the Christian faith, who carried out remarkable spiritual, educational, and charitable activities among his parishioners. To this end, he adeptly made use of the Orthodox Christian Brotherhood “St. Petka,” which he led in the village of Zelenikovo, Plovdiv Region. The Orthodox Christian Brotherhoods were church organizations that emerged after 1900 and, by 1926, had already formed a national union, later establishing unions within dioceses and ecclesiastical districts. The Bulgarian Orthodox Church carried out most of its projects through them until 1948, particularly in Christian education, charity, and works of mercy. That is why in 1944, in the first days after the establishment of the communist regime in the country, when harsh persecution of the Church began, the most active members of the Orthodox Christian Brotherhoods and their leaders were subjected to repression, and many of them were martyred for their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and for their charitable deeds. The Plovdiv Diocese was leading in this fraternal work, and the Orthodox Christian Brotherhood “St. Petka” in Zelenikovo was among the most active; although it was based in a rural parish, it was on par with those in Plovdiv and other cities of the diocese. For this reason, Priest Stefan Tafrov also became a victim of communist terror, brutally murdered without trial or judgment in October 1944.</jats:p>