Peter Deunov

was the rst Bulgarian teacher in the region before becoming a Bulgarian Orthodox priest. He was one of the
rst to present the liturgy in Bulgarian, the language of the
local people, rather than the traditional sacred language
of Greek.[4]
Deunov attended secondary school in Varna and the
American Methodist School of Theology and Science in
Svishtov, from which he graduated in 1886. He worked
as a primary school teacher for a year before leaving for
the United States, where he studied theology at Drew
Theological Seminary in Madison, New Jersey, from
1888 to May 1892. After graduating from Drew, in the
fall of 1892 he enrolled in the Boston University School
of Theology and obtained his degree in June 1893 with
a thesis on The Migration of the Germanic Tribes and
Their Christianisation (published in 2007[5] ). He was a
regular student at the School of Medicine of Boston University for a year, before returning to Bulgaria in 1895.
In Bulgaria Deunov was oered the position of a
Methodist pastor in the city of Yambol. This oer was
withdrawn after he stipulated he would only serve without remuneration. In 1896 he published Science and
Education, in which he analyzed the development of
mankind into a new culture, which he thought was bound
to take place during the forthcoming century. After the
turn of the century, Deunov began to travel throughout Bulgaria for several years, giving talks and undertaking phrenological research. He met with a wide circle
of people. Among them were his rst three disciples,
who had belonged to dierent branches of Christianity
Todor Stoimenov (Eastern Orthodox), Dr. Mirkovich
(Catholic) and Penyu Kirov (Protestant). After a long
correspondence, all of them met in Varna during 1923
July 1900. It is considered the rst annual convention of
what later became a spiritual community that lasted until the end of Deunovs life. Deunov eventually settled in
Soa, the capital of Bulgaria, and began giving lectures.

Peter Deunov

Peter Deunov /dnv/ (Bulgarian: , IPA:

['ptr 'dnf]; July 11, 1864 December 27, 1944), also
known by his spiritual name Beinsa Douno (Bulgarian:
, [bins dn]), and often called the Master by his followers, was a Bulgarian philosopher and spiritual teacher who developed a form of Esoteric Christianity. He is widely known in Bulgaria, where he was
voted second by the public in the Great Bulgarians TV
show on Bulgarian National Television (2006-2007) after the BBC format.[1] Deunov is also featured in Pantev
and Gavrilovs The 100 Most Inuential Bulgarians in Our
History (ranked in 37th place).[2] According to Petrov,
Peter Deunov is the most published Bulgarian author to
this day.[3]

In 1914 he gave his rst public lecture, Behold, the Man!

(Ecce Homo in Latin), published later in the series Power
and Life. Deunov began to give regular Sunday lectures
which were based on the elaboration and explanation of
a Biblical passage.

In 1921 the community Izgrev (Sunrise) was established.

A site at what were then the outskirts of Soa, it was
the gathering place in the mornings for Deunov and his
Peter Deunov was born in the village of Hadardja disciples. Many followers started building nearby and
(now Nikolaevka in Suvorovo Municipality) near Varna, the place eventually became the center of a large spirBulgaria on July 11, 1864, the third child of Konstantin itual community. Deunov gave lectures in the newly
Dunovsky and Dobra Atanasova Georgieva. His father

Life

EXTERNAL LINKS

drews-global-heritage-history-of-international-students-at-drew-theologicalbulgaria, Accessed 24 July 2014

[4] Kraleva, M., The Master Peter Deunov: His Life and
Teaching, Kibea, 2001, Bulgaria; ISBN 954-47426-89
[5] Peter Duno, The Migration of the Teutonic Tribes and
Their Conversion to Christianity: Boston University School
of Theology Thesis, 1893, St. Kliment Ohridski University Press, 2007, ISBN 978-954-07-2645-8

Grave of Peter Deunov in "Izgrev" estate, Soa, Bulgaria

constructed Lecture Hall. In 1922 he initiated two new

streams of specialized lectures in addition to the Sunday lectures, and from 1930 began delivering morning
talks on Sunday mornings before dawn. The themes
of the dierent lecture streams were wide-ranging and
encompassed, among others: religion, music, geometry,
astrology, philosophy and esoteric science. Overall,
Deunov gave approximately 3700 lectures in the three
decades between 1914 and 1944. His thoughts were
also recorded in talks, private conversations, and early
letters.[6]
In 1932, he developed Paneurhythmy exercises: a sequence of exercises performed to music, to achieve inner
balance and harmonization. He died in 1944, aged 80.[7]

Legacy

Several thousand of Deunovs lectures were recorded by

stenographers and are documented in the form of deciphered stenograms (some modied by editing and others left intact [8] ). These contain the essence of Deunovs
teaching. There are also a number of songs and prayers,
among which The Good Prayer from 1900 is regarded as
the most special.[4]

References

[1] Bulgarian National Television - The Great Bulgarians, http://welcome.bnt.bg/movies/velikitebg.php?id=

12, Accessed July 17, 2014
[2] Pantev, A.L. and Gavrilov, B.G., The 100 Most Inuential Bulgarians in Our History (in Bulgarian 100 - ), Reporter, 1997, Bulgaria, 328 pp., ISBN 9548102242,
9789548102247
[3] Petrov, N., Drews Global Heritage:
History
of International Students, Peter Deunov:
An
Early Graduate from Bulgaria, Drew Theological School, http://www.drew.edu/theological/2012/01/

[6] Kovachev, T., The Master Beinsa Douno: A catalog of the lectures, prayers, musical exercises, Paneurhythmy, gymnastic exercises (1896-1944) (in Bulgarian, .
, , ,
, (1896
1944)), 2004, Soa, Bulgaria; ISBN 954-9589-84-6
[7] Beinsa Douno: Paneurhythmy - Music, Ideas, Movements
(step by step description), Bialo Bratstvo Publishers, 2004,
Soa, Bulgaria.
[8] Christophorus, Answers on important topics, Topic
2: About the original Word of the Master Peter
Deunov (Beinsa Douno), http://www.beinsa-douno.net/
important-topics.html#topic2_original_Word, Accessed
July 17, 2014

4 Further reading
The Wellspring of Good: The Last Words of the
Master Peter Deunov, Compiled by Bojan Boev and
Boris Nikolov, Kibea Publishing Company, 2002.
David Lorimer, ed. Gems of Love and Wisdom
Prayers, Meditations and Reections by Beinsa
Douno (Peter Deunov). Element Books Ltd, 1991.
Milka Kraleva (2001). The master: Peter Deunov,
his life and teaching. Kibea. ISBN 978-954-474268-3.
Ardella Nathanael. Dance of the Soul: Peter Deunovs Pan-Eu-Rhythmy, Carlsbad, CA, Esoteric
Publishing, 2006.
Ardella Nathanael. The Buttery Dance: Peter Deunovs PanEuRhythmy, San Rafael, CA, CreateSpace, 2010.

5 External links
Society of the White Brotherhood, Bulgaria (English version) Ocial website - biographical details,
brief information about Deunovs teaching, forums
(Bulgarian only), and other resources.
The English Master Peter Deunov (Beinsa Douno)
Home Page - English translations of lectures, prayers
and other works by Deunov from authentic sources,

3
as well as discussions of various topics related to his
life and teaching.
Power and Life - in several languages, with translations of lectures sourced from around the Internet.
Paneurhythmy - comprehensive site with background information and videos.

6 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

6.1

Text

Peter Deunov Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Deunov?oldid=685129198 Contributors: Bgwhite, Rms125a@hotmail.com,

Quartz, Ekabhishek, Parkwells, Cmr08, Yobot, AnomieBOT, Tahc, Sever Juan, The ancient princess, Luluintheskies, KasparBot and
Anonymous: 8

6.2

Images

File:Beinsa_Duno.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/13/Beinsa_Duno.jpg License: Public domain Contributors: http://petardanov.com/index.php/gallery/image/198-%D0%BF%D0%B5%D1%82%D1%8A%D1%80-%D0%B4%D1%8A%

D0%BD%D0%BE%D0%B2/ Original artist: Hristo
File:Sofia-peter-deunov-grave-5.jpg Source: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fc/Sofia-peter-deunov-grave-5.jpg
License: Public domain Contributors: Own work of the uploader Original artist: Vassia Atanassova - Spiritia

6.3

Content license

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