Page 63 [63]
THE SHIFTING IDENTITIES OF THE BULGARIAN-CANADIAN DIASPORA, 1900-2015
community were Archimandrite Theofilact, also known as Dr Dimitar G.
Mallin (Malincheff) and John Grudeff. Dr Malincheff (Theofilact) was born
in the village of Vrachesh, near the Bulgarian town of Botevgrad (Orhanie),
whereas John Grudeff was born in the village of Gramatikovo in 1894, near
the Black sea coast.?7
Archimandrite Theofilact was sent to North America in 1908 by the
Bulgarian Holy Synod. During his mandate he initiated the creation of four
Bulgarian orthodox churches in North America, among which was the first
Bulgarian church in Toronto in 1911 — the Macedono-Bulgarian Orthodox
Cathedral of Sts. Cyril and Methody. In 1913, Theofilact published The First
Bulgarian-English Pocket Dictionary with 18,000 words,”* which became very
popular among the Bulgarian communities in both Canada and USA, as it
contained not only words, but also a great number of useful common phrases
for various situations, related to accommodation, job search, physical well¬
being, and travelling between Canada and the United States.” Archimandrite
Theofilact left the priesthood and in 1921 graduated from the Medical Faculty
of the University of Toronto to become the first Bulgarian physician in Canada
and to open the first Bulgarian pharmacy in Toronto in 1922.°°
John Grudeff left his native village of Gramatikovo to study atthe American
School in Salonica. Grudeff came to Canada in 1910, when he was only sixteen
years old. Initially, he worked at the railway construction and in a sugar factory.
He was determined, however, to continue his education. He graduated from the
University of Toronto with a BA in Literature and Fine Arts in 1922 and from
the Faculty of Law in 1926, becoming the first Bulgarian-Canadian lawyer.
John Grudeff was a good friend of Dr. Malincheff (Archimandrite Theofilact)
and he founded one of the first Bulgarian benevolent societies in Toronto —
the William Gladstone Benevolent Society.*' This charity organization provided
sick and funeral benefits for its members, translation services, accommodation
and employment information. The members also organized ethnic holiday
celebrations to preserve their Bulgarian cultural traditions. Dr Malincheff
edited the first Bulgarian weekly newspaper in Toronto, Balkanska Zvezda
[Balkan Star], published in the period 1912-1913 in Bulgarian.
The Bulgarian settlers did not believe that they could lose their Bulgarian
ethnic identity even if they had to face the discrimination of mainstream
society. They often feared, however, that their children would lose interest in
Bulgaria and its culture and language and they would completely assimilate
Gurdev, Bulgarskata emigraciya, 218.
28 Dimitar D. Malincheff, The First Bulgarian-English Pocket Dictionary, Toronto, n.p., 1913,
MHSO Macedonian Collection (Microfilm).
> Ibid.
Gurdev, Bulgarskata emigraciya, 218.
31 Ibid.
+61 +