Paper short abstract:

This paper describes the role of the St John Rilski Church in Chicago in the formation of a Bulgarian immigrant community. The various functions of the church are analysed – as a place of worship, of religious and secular celebrations, of weekly community gatherings, etc.

Paper long abstract:

The big industrial cities in Canada and the US Northeast and Midwest became the home of many Bulgarians already by the beginning of the twentieth century. The fall of communism ignited a new wave of migration, which in the early 1990s was predominantly oriented across the Atlantic. Today Chicago, Illinois is reported to be the host of the largest Bulgarian diaspora, with its Bulgarian-speaking population estimated between 100 000-150 000. In the recent years migration from Bulgaria to West European countries is much more common, but unlike those going to Europe, Bulgarians who cross the ocean with a Green Card enter the host society with the intention to settle there more permanently. Accordingly, they have developed specific patterns of adaptation, including the formation of their own "ethnic" spaces on the host city maps: churches, clubs, restaurants, etc.

This paper tries to discuss the role of the 'St. Ivan Rilski" Bulgarian Orthodox Church in Chicago in the lives of the Bulgarian immigrants there, as well as in the formation of a Bulgarian migrant community on American soil. The various functions of the church are described and analysed: as a place of worship, of religious and secular celebrations, of weekly community gatherings, as well as a place where newcomers look for vital information and support when settling down in the new environment. The focus is on the way individuals speak of the church, the priests and the authorities they represent, as well as the way they view the church as a significant site on their personal life trajectories. The question of why the church has obtained such a significance as compared to other 'ethnic' sites is also discussed.