[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 41 (Tuesday, March 11, 2008)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E354]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING THE VERY REVEREND VENSESLAV DIMITROFF

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. MARCY KAPTUR

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 11, 2008

  Ms. KAPTUR. Madam Speaker, I rise today to recognize the Very 
Reverend Father Venseslav Dimitroff of Toledo, Ohio.
  The Very Reverend Father Venseslav Dimitroff, a wise and faithful 
servant who shepherded his family and his community around the world, 
departed this life on Wednesday, February 27, 2008. A beacon of hope 
and service to his Toledo community, he will be sincerely missed by 
all. He was born on July 12, 1923, in Bourgas, Bulgaria. He spent his 
early childhood in Edirne, Turkey where his late father, the Very 
Reverend Mihail Dimitroff was the principal of the former ``Peter 
Beron'' Bulgarian high school and his mother, the late Ekaterina, a 
teacher. His family moved to Plovdiv, Bulgaria, when he was 7 years old 
and he stayed there until 1944, few days before the Communist takeover 
of the country. He had to leave his homeland again and move to 
Istanbul, Turkey. He served in the Turkish Military for 4 years. He 
married Marina Veneziani on November 7, 1955, at Sveti Stefan Bulgarian 
Church where his father had become an Orthodox priest. He was ordained 
to the priesthood himself in March of 1961 by the Greek Orthodox 
Patriarchate of Constantinople. He was elevated to Cross-bearing 
Archpriest in May of 1973 by the Patriarch Maxim of Bulgaria. He served 
at St. John of Rila Church in the Bulgarian Exarchate in Istanbul until 
July of 1975.
  At the invitation of the late Archbishop Kyrill Yonchev and the late 
Mrs. Pena Evanoff, one of the founders of the St. George Bulgarian 
Church in Toledo, Ohio, he immigrated to the United States in August of 
1975. He served the small immigrant church community until his 
retirement in August of 1995. Father Dimitroff was a very friendly 
person who enjoyed talking to people from all walks of life. He loved 
reading, especially Balkan history and politics, and was an avid soccer 
fan who loved watching all kinds of sports on television. He beautified 
his home and community by being a masterful gardener. His church housed 
a lush gorgeous garden full of flowers, especially tulips and roses.
  In the summer of 1992 he fulfilled a dream to return to Bulgaria for 
a visit to his brother after a 48-year separation. Four years later, in 
1996, through the generous hospitality of Mr. and Mrs. George Lutikoff, 
he was able to revisit his family in his beloved Istanbul to spend a 
wonderful vacation among the members of the Bulgarian community 
residing there.
  It is with the deepest appreciation that I pay tribute to the long 
life of a good, patient and kind man, the Very Reverend Father 
Venseslav Dimitroff. He lived his years in service to his family, 
friends, and our Toledo community. May God welcome ``Ven'' home; a good 
and faithful servant. May He shower him royally with blessings into 
eternity and bestow upon him a loving peace.

                          ____________________