RILA, Bulgaria -- Thousands of followers of a spiritual movement called the Universal White Brotherhood have camped high in Bulgaria’s Rila Mountains to mark their "new year" season.
The gathering culminates each year on August 19 in one of the world’s most spectacular rituals.
The White Brotherhood has its roots in a “society for lifting the religious spirit of the Bulgarian people” that was founded in 1897 by Peter Deunov.
Deunov was a Bulgarian theologian who spent several years studying in New Jersey and Boston in the late 1800s before sailing back to Europe and becoming a “spiritual master.”
The writings of Deunov make several references to race, including the claim that the souls of all ethnicities must “pass through” the white race before becoming a mystical and final “sixth race” of “brotherhood and love.”
Today, the White Brotherhood says the name of their movement is strictly about “white light, the highest spiritual symbol, which is the synthesis of all colors.”
After a prayer session to meet the sunrise on August 18, Gizda Staneva, a longtime member of the White Brotherhood, said, “It's not a religion. It’s a connection. It’s offering you a connection with nature and with God.”
Many in the movement are active Christians, but the Bulgarian church has historically been hostile to the brotherhood.
Staneva says Deunov left his followers several real-world challenges to attempt if they wish, including “to go into the world and live with no money for one week, and see how you will be.”
Another, more attainable challenge is to go into the mountains -- first in a group, then with one other person, and finally alone.
“You get to see the difference this makes in you,” Staneva says. “It’s the same place, but a totally different experience.”
The most distinctive emblem of the White Brotherhood is the “paneurhythmy” -- a dance-like ritual that has been dubbed "Bulgarian tai chi" and can be seen practiced in towns where a significant number of the White Brotherhood live.
The paneurhythmy takes its most spectacular form throughout most of August, when the brotherhood dresses in white then gathers en masse each morning on an alpine meadow in the Rila Mountains some 2,100 meters above sea level.
Svetla Baltova, one of the teachers of the paneurhythmy, told RFE/RL that being inside the slowly rotating circles gives her a feeling of “light and peace,” as if “heaven has come down to Earth.”
The paneurhythmy is led by a group of musicians from the center of the circles who play mostly violins. The largest gathering for the ritual is on August 19 each year when Deunov claimed the "cosmic energy" in nature is at its strongest.
Baltova says it's unknown how many followers of the movement exist worldwide, but there are tens of thousands in Bulgaria. A 1995 French government report counted 20,000 White Brotherhood members in France. The report classed the movement as a "sect."
After the paneurhythmy, members turn to embrace. Some young women skip with glee, while others appear relieved that the 90-minute ritual, which takes place under the ferocious mountain sun, is over.
With its complex combination of spiritual and natural "teachings," the Universal White Brotherhood can be hard to understand even for its veterans seeking meaning.
"I've been here for 20 years and I still don't understand everything," Gizda Staneva said.
