FORMER SEPHARDI SYNAGOGUE, RUSE

The former Sephardi Synagogue was probably what was referred to as the "Great Synagogue of Ruse" in reports from the 1860s. 

Abandoned and in danger of collapse, the former synagogue was sold to the US-backed Church of God of Prophecy in the 1990s. It is now one of the few examples in Europe of a Jewish house of prayer turned into a Christian church. 

Most of the interior has been preserved, but the huge wood-carved Star of David in its dome has been veiled with an opaque plastic sheet. Obviously, the room is full of Christian symbols and literature. Signs in English and Bulgarian refer to the "heroic" deed of converting a "Jewish synagogue" into a "Christian temple." 

The Ruse Church of God of Prophecy is open and can be visited.