On February 12, 2019, Mr. Tzonko Filipov, a legendary physical education teacher, received Bulgarian President’s Badge of Honor because in the summer of 1944 he saved two Romanian soldiers who were in danger of drowning in the Danube river after explosion of a military ship. On June 15, 1944 Bulgarian Ministry announced that Mr. Tzonko Filipov should be awarded with Certificate of Recognition and a pen for his heroic deed of saving two human lives, but he did not receive his award. In November 2018, Bulgarian Ministry of Education gave Mr. Filipov this award with a delay of 75 years. Born in 1927, Mr. Filipov was Bulgarian President Rumen Radev’s physical education teacher and received the President’s Badge of Honor 40 years after his first meeting with his former student at the German-speaking School in Haskovo, Bulgaria.

Unfortunately, Mr. Tzonko Filipov died on May 29, 2021, from Astra Zeneca vaccination. The first news, that one about his award received by Bulgarian Ministry of Education, as well as about receiving Bulgarian President’s Badge of Honor, was published in the main Bulgarian media, while the second news, that one about the tragic death of the teacher, was not announced in the Bulgarian press at all. The death of a 94-year-old completely healthy teacher from Astra Zeneca vaccination could not be justified. That’s why the obligatory vaccination required for attending public events is not the proper measure against Covid 19. At least, an antigen-test should be firstly applied before deciding in favor of vaccinating a person. In addition, the biblical rule in 1 Thessalonians 5:21 should be valid in this case as well: “Test all things, and hold firmly that which is good.”

Mr. Tzonko Filipov among his students, including Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, after receiving President’s Badge of Honor in the Presidency in Sofia;
a photo from personal archive of Mrs. Ani Kyurkchieva.

Written by Margarit Zhekov