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The Evangelical Church of Romania ( ro, Biserica Evanghelică Română) is a
Protestant
Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
denomination that emerged out of the
Romanian Orthodox Church
The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; ro, Biserica Ortodoxă Română, ), or Patriarchate of Romania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian churches, and one of ...
. It is one of
Romania
Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...
's eighteen officially recognised religious denominations.
History
The church originated between 1920 and 1924, the work of the young
Romanian Orthodox
The Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC; ro, Biserica Ortodoxă Română, ), or Patriarchate of Romania, is an autocephalous Eastern Orthodox church in full communion with other Eastern Orthodox Christian churches, and one of the nine patriarchates i ...
theologians
Dumitru Cornilescu (whose Bible translation is used by most Protestant churches in Romania) and Tudor Popescu (a former priest at the
Cuibul cu barză Church).
Also known as Tudorites, the deeply
pietistic movement, regarded as the only Protestant church with Romanian origins, originated in a profound religious experience of Popescu's. Following this, he began to preach repentance and faith, questioning the significance attached by Orthodoxy to the saints,
icon
An icon () is a religious work of art, most commonly a painting, in the cultures of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, and Catholic churches. They are not simply artworks; "an icon is a sacred image used in religious devotion". The most ...
s and the
sacraments
A sacrament is a Christian rite that is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments to be a visible symbol of the real ...
, and emphasising the centrality of the Bible instead of the liturgy. Eventually excommunicated and barred from addressing Orthodox congregations, he was lent an auditorium by an affiliate of the Anglican Mission to the Jews in Bucharest. Much to the consternation of his former church, he was able to firmly establish his work, drawing large crowds with his very popular preaching.
[Pope, p.187]
Under the leadership of Popescu and Cornilescu, several hundred followers built a 1000-seat mother church in 1926,
which still drew close to eight hundred worshipers on an average Sunday morning in the early 1990s.
At the request of government authorities, some of whom Popescu deeply impressed,
the new movement registered as an association in 1927 and, in order to be distinguished from other groups, took the name ''Christians of the Scriptures''. Shortly thereafter, churches opened in
Ploiești
Ploiești ( , , ), formerly spelled Ploești, is a city and county seat in Prahova County, Romania. Part of the historical region of Muntenia, it is located north of Bucharest.
The area of Ploiești is around , and it borders the Blejoi commu ...
,
Câmpulung
Câmpulung (also spelled ''Cîmpulung'', , german: Langenau, Old Romanian ''Dlăgopole'', ''Длъгополе'' (from Middle Bulgarian)), or ''Câmpulung Muscel'', is a municipality in the Argeș County, Muntenia, Romania. It is situated amon ...
,
Târgoviște
Târgoviște (, alternatively spelled ''Tîrgoviște''; german: Tergowisch) is a city and county seat in Dâmbovița County, Romania. It is situated north-west of Bucharest, on the right bank of the Ialomița River.
Târgoviște was one of the ...
,
Rucăr
Rucăr is a commune in the north-eastern part of Argeș County, Muntenia, Romania. At the 2011 census, the population of the commune was 5,752. It is composed of two villages, Rucăr and Sătic. Located on the Rucăr-Bran Pass, it is popular with ...
,
Buzău
The city of Buzău (formerly spelled ''Buzeu'' or ''Buzĕu''; ) is the county seat of Buzău County, Romania, in the historical region of Muntenia. It lies near the right bank of the Buzău River, between the south-eastern curvature of the Car ...
,
Pitești
Pitești () is a city in Romania, located on the river Argeș. The capital and largest city of Argeș County, it is an important commercial and industrial center, as well as the home of two universities. Pitești is situated in the historical re ...
,
Bârlad
Bârlad () is a city in Vaslui County, Romania. It lies on the banks of the river Bârlad, which waters the high plains of Western Moldavia.
At Bârlad the railway from Iași diverges, one branch skirting the river Siret, the other skirting th ...
,
Brașov
Brașov (, , ; german: Kronstadt; hu, Brassó; la, Corona; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the administrative centre of Brașov County.
According to the latest Romanian census (2011), Brașov has a popu ...
and other places.
In 1939, despite differences in dogma and worship, the
National Renaissance Front
The National Renaissance Front ( ro, Frontul Renașterii Naționale, FRN; also translated as ''Front of National Regeneration'', ''Front of National Rebirth'', ''Front of National Resurrection'', or ''Front of National Renaissance'') was a Romani ...
regime compelled the ''Christians of the Scriptures'' to merge with the ''Christian Evangelicals'', resulting in the Christian Evangelical Church. The resultant church had two branches: branch I, which practised
believer's baptism
Believer's baptism or adult baptism (occasionally called credobaptism, from the Latin word meaning "I believe") is the practice of baptizing those who are able to make a conscious profession of faith, as contrasted to the practice of baptizing ...
, and the Tudorite branch II, which employed
infant baptism
Infant baptism is the practice of baptising infants or young children. Infant baptism is also called christening by some faith traditions.
Most Christians belong to denominations that practice infant baptism. Branches of Christianity that ...
.
["Biserica Creştină după Evanghelie"]
, at the Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs
Under-Secretariat for Culture and Religious Affairs
accessed March 10, 2010 (The difference stemmed from the tradition whence each emerged:
Plymouth Brethren
The Plymouth Brethren or Assemblies of Brethren are a low church and non-conformist Christian movement whose history can be traced back to Dublin, Ireland, in the mid to late 1820s, where they originated from Anglicanism. The group emphasizes ...
and Romanian Orthodox, respectively.)
Outlawed under the
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
-era regime of
Ion Antonescu
Ion Antonescu (; ; – 1 June 1946) was a Romanian military officer and marshal who presided over two successive wartime dictatorships as Prime Minister and ''Conducător'' during most of World War II.
A Romanian Army career officer who made ...
,
["Biserica Evanghelică Română"]
, at the Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs
Under-Secretariat for Culture and Religious Affairs
accessed March 10, 2010 in 1946, the Evangelical Christians were recognised as a religious body by the Romanian state, with the Tudorites once again merged into the Plymouth Brethren church, and also including a splinter group called "Christians" centred at Ploieşti.
(For an overview of the church's development under the
Communist regime
A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...
, see Christian Evangelical Church of Romania.) Following the
1989 Revolution and the fall of the regime, the two branches split at a general conference held in Bucharest a month later. They separated ostensibly over the issue of baptism, with the second emerging as the Evangelical Church of Romania.
[Pope, p.201]
Organisation
According to the 2011 census, the church had 15,514 members, making up 0.08% of the population; it was the country's 15th largest recognised religious body.
["Populaţia stabilă după etnie şi religie – categorii de localităţi"]
, at the 2011 census official site; accessed June 2, 2015 As of 2008, there were some 220 churches, mainly in Bucharest and in the counties of
Ilfov
Ilfov () is the Counties of Romania, county that surrounds Bucharest, the capital of Romania. It used to be largely rural, but, after the fall of Communism, many of the county's villages and communes developed into high-income commuter towns, wh ...
,
Argeș,
Brașov
Brașov (, , ; german: Kronstadt; hu, Brassó; la, Corona; Transylvanian Saxon: ''Kruhnen'') is a city in Transylvania, Romania and the administrative centre of Brașov County.
According to the latest Romanian census (2011), Brașov has a popu ...
,
Constanța
Constanța (, ; ; rup, Custantsa; bg, Кюстенджа, Kyustendzha, or bg, Констанца, Konstantsa, label=none; el, Κωνστάντζα, Kōnstántza, or el, Κωνστάντια, Kōnstántia, label=none; tr, Köstence), histo ...
,
Dâmbovița,
Ialomița,
Prahova and
Vaslui
Vaslui (), a city in eastern Romania, is the seat of Vaslui County, in the historical region of Western Moldavia. The city administers five villages: Bahnari, Brodoc, Moara Grecilor, Rediu, and Viișoara.
History
Archaeological surveys indicate ...
.
The church considers all members to be brothers, has no clergy or hierarchy, is completely reliant on a lay ministry, and considers Christ as its head.
At the national level, there is a brethren assembly of elected representatives, which supervises and coordinates church life, as well as a leadership committee that represents the church in its dealings with the state. Members are not required to make contributions for the upkeep of the church. The church's justification for baptism by immersion is that the early Christians had this practice, but it stresses the importance of personal belief in Christ and not just baptism.
During services, members sing together fervently without benefit of a choir or instruments.
Bible readings and expositions, as well as prayers, are also featured, and services' spontaneity leads to considerable member participation, with individual churches enjoying strong autonomy.
[Pope, p.188]
The church published a semimonthly newsletter, ''Adevărul Creștin'' ("The Christian Truth"), as well as other theological works. It has relations with the
Union of Evangelical Free Church Congregations in Germany
The Union of Evangelical Free Churches in Germany (german: Bund Evangelisch-Freikirchlicher Gemeinden in Deutschland ) is a Baptist Christian denomination in Germany. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance. The headquarters is in Wuster ...
as well as with evangelical churches in the Netherlands and the United States, but has no direct outside equivalent.
Notes
References
*Earl A. Pope, "Protestantism in Romania", in Sabrina P. Ramet (ed.), ''Christianity under Stress. Vol. III: Protestantism and Politics in Eastern Europe and Russia: The Communist and Postcommunist Eras'',
Duke University Press
Duke University Press is an academic publisher and university press affiliated with Duke University. It was founded in 1921 by William T. Laprade as The Trinity College Press. (Duke University was initially called Trinity College). In 1926 Du ...
, 1992.
External links
Official site
{{Eastern Protestants
Eastern Christianity
Plymouth Brethren
Protestantism in Romania
Religious organizations established in the 1920s
Religious organizations based in Bucharest