With his long, scraggly white beard and tattered clothes, Dobri Dobrev would by all appearances seem to be your garden-variety beggar, the kind of homeless person found in any major city who appeals to the kindness of strangers for subsistence.
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But what no one knew until just a few years ago is that Dobri — who turns 103 in July — has eschewed materialism and even the basic comforts of the modern world, donating all the money he receives from begging to help others in need.
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That’s right, every single penny (or lev, Bulgaria’s currency).
Because his own desires are few, “Saint Dobry” is able to live off a war pension that amounts to a meager $100 each month. He donates his gains from the streets to orphanages, churches and monasteries, including more than $20,000 to the Cathedral of Alexander Nevsky in Bulgaria’s capital city of Sofia.
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He now lives in an extension to the Saints Cyril and Methodius church — the recipient of nearly $6,000 of his street earnings — in his hometown of Bailovo.
For years, Grandpa Dobri, as he is also known, traversed the 15 miles from his home to Sofia by foot, but now relies on public transportation.
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While he’s mum about much of his personal life, it is known that he lost much of his hearing in a bombing during World War II. He married in 1940 and had four children — two of whom he’s outlived, and one of whom cares for him– according to the web site dedicated to this man who’s revered worldwide for his absolute selflessness.
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The Pokrov Foundation is a Bulgarian non-profit group dedicated to furthering the aims of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. In 2000, the organization released the film “Mite,”in which Dobri says: “The good will is just and true. Everything in it is good. We must not lie, nor steal, nor commit adultery. We must love each other as God loves us.â€
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