[3] His father, Dimitar, died in World War I and his mother, Katerina,[4] had to raise their children by herself.

[5][3] Over the years, Dobrev became detached from the material aspects of life and devoted himself entirely to the spiritual world, specifically in the Orthodox faith.

About that time, he embarked on his mission to raise funds for the restoration of churches and monasteries across Bulgaria.

[7] Over the course of his lifetime, Dobrev donated over 80,000 Bulgarian lev (40,000 euros)[8] to churches, monasteries and other noble deeds.

Among his biggest donations are: Dobrev married around 1940, as Bulgaria joined World War II.