Grandpa Dobri is a poor philanthropist

A 103-year-old beggar, Grandfather Dobri from the Bulgarian village of Baylovo, dressed in homespun clothes and ancient leather shoes, which he wears in winter and summer, often stands at the Cathedral of St. Alexander Nevsky in Sofia. Every day he gets up early and walks 10 kilometers from his village of Baylovo to the Bulgarian capital.

He is also called an ascetic, hermit, penniless, angel, God's wanderer from the past, a beggar. There are a lot of people who have never heard of Grandfather Dobri Dobrev. There are a lot of people who do not have even the slightest idea about the true sanctity of his work.

In 2011, he turned 97 years old, and he continues to wholeheartedly give others his wealth — kindness and humanity. He can be found from time to time on the streets of the capital in search of generous people to fulfill a God-pleasing causa. For decades, Dobri's grandfather has been raising money for the restoration of Bulgarian churches. Cold and bad weather are not a hindrance to him, he is not afraid of hunger, he is not angry at indifferent people.

This old man is distinguished by goodness and meekness. With a smile, he will kiss the child's hand that left money in his cash register, thank him for alms, talk about God with passers-by. Grandpa Dobri is not a beggar. He himself wants to save the souls of strangers. It is impossible to call a beggar a man like him, who has forgotten about the needs, collecting money for the benefit of an exalted cause, which is far from material goods.

In 2010, during the filming of a documentary about the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral, a Bulgarian television journalist made a shocking discovery while sorting through church archives: the most generous private donation the cathedral has ever received - 40 thousand euros — was made by an old beggar, Grandfather Dobri.

The 103-year-old saint does not touch a single penny of the money that is served to him. He lives on his pension of 100 euros per month, as well as on non-monetary alms in the form of fruits and bread. Grandpa Dobri helps many others as well. For example, he paid the utility bills of an orphanage that was on the verge of turning off heat and light. In addition, he helps the homeless. But we will never know about all the good deeds of Grandpa Dobri, because he never talks about them.

Grandpa Dobri has four children. Now he is being taken care of by one of his daughters, who lives alone in Sofia. The old man lost his hearing in the war in the past. What prompted him to become God's wanderer? He also keeps silent about this. Maybe the fact that there are no material goods and rich people in Baylov played a role. Elin Pelin himself writes that Baylovo is a beautiful, but very poor village.

The old man made his native village rich spiritually. From time immemorial, people remember that Grandfather Dobri visits churches and monasteries, collects alms and helps others. Peasants from the village see him every day and are sure that he collects every penny in the cash register and leaves nothing for himself.

Although he has a bed, he likes to sleep on the floor, does not want to use the amenities of modern civilization. There is only a piece of bread and a tomato on the table in a modest room. That's enough for him to live all day.

Grandfather Dobri in woolen clothes, in bast shoes, with long gray hair and beard is perceived as an alien from the past. He looks more like the most holy ascetic of the Bulgarian Church, Ivan Rilsky, than a contemporary of immorality and corruption. As if he came from the past, when charity and faith had a healthy foundation.

People who attended the church gave BGN 2000-2500. This money can be collected on holidays. The renovation of the temple, the renovation of the altar, new tablecloths and curtains took all the money that the old man collected. The people who worked in the church, as a sign of gratitude, bought the furniture necessary for the old man in Baylov, but he refused everything.

According to the secretary of the church, this man tirelessly collects the fruits of eternal life. The gifts that the old man makes, he looks like Santa Claus. The old man gives children not dolls and trucks, but his example, transmits his hope for the return of people to spirituality.

And those who do not believe in Santa Claus can believe in Santa Dobri. It means to believe in goodness.