Evangelical Press’ third Romanian Conference was held on 18-19 November in the city of Oradea. As the date coincided with sessions of the Romanian Baptist Union Assembly in Bucharest, there was uncertainty about the degree of attendance we could expect. In the event fears proved to be groundless, with numbers greater than in previous years – an attendance of over 300, drawn from a wider constituency than before.
It was good to meet many Hungarian-speaking delegates and some Gypsy pastors, in addition to the Romanian-speaking majority. Students from the Oradea Pentecostal College came for the first time, several from Brethren assemblies and at least one Orthodox attendee, as well as Baptists from Emanuel Christian University.
The sessions were held in the fine modern chapel of Emanuel University, with meals and accommodation in the university. The conference is hosted by the university and promoted by Evangelical Press and Editura Faclia, a Romanian Christian publishing house. The smooth running of the meetings owes much to the hard work of the Director of Editura Faclia, Dinu Moga, and his wife Lidia.
Romanian literature
Dinu is a recent graduate of the John Owen Centre in London and was earlier a student at London Theological Seminary. Editura Faclia now has an impressive array of Romanian Christian literature, ranging widely from study materials to children’s books.
At this year’s conference Romanian translations of Philip Eveson’s EP commentary on Genesis and Martyn Lloyd-Jones’ exposition of I John were launched. It was appropriate that Philip Eveson should be there to give two addresses on Genesis.
Gareth Crossley spoke on meeting challenges from within and without the church, basing his addresses on the two epistles of Peter, I John and Jude. Robert Oliver discussed the significance of the ministry of Dr Martyn Lloyd-Jones. The conference concluded with a sermon by Adrian Giorgiov, pastor of one of Oradea’s Hungarian-speaking churches and a lecturer in Emanuel University.
This conference provides an opportunity to encourage preachers and promote the production of literature in a country long deprived of a resource taken for granted in the West. Those who attend from the UK are challenged by the evangelistic zeal of our brethren and their evident desire to promote the spiritual health of their churches. Both Eastern and Western Europe can only be enriched by these contacts.
