Christian Evangelical Church of Romania
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The Christian Evangelical Church of Romania ( ro, Biserica Creştină după Evanghelie) is a
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 ...
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, 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

Under the influence of foreign Plymouth Brethren missionaries active in Romania in the late 19th century, a group of "free Christians" was founded in
Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...
in 1899.Pope, p.187 Initially, members were foreign residents of the capital city; they were later joined by Romanian converts."Biserica Creştină după Evanghelie"
, at the Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs
Under-Secretariat for Culture and Religious Affairs
accessed 10 March 2010
Also known as "
Darbyites The Exclusive Brethren are a subset of the Christian evangelical movement generally described as the Plymouth Brethren. They are distinguished from the Open Brethren from whom they separated in 1848. The Exclusive Brethren are now divided int ...
" after
John Nelson Darby John Nelson Darby (18 November 1800 – 29 April 1882) was an Anglo-Irish Bible teacher, one of the influential figures among the original Plymouth Brethren and the founder of the Exclusive Brethren. He is considered to be the father of modern D ...
, the British 19th century founder of their movement, the group was outlawed in the 1920s and was accused of spreading communist ideas. In 1933, the Romanian state recognised them as a religious association, the ''Christian Evangelicals''. In 1939, they were compelled by 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 to merge with the '' Christians of the Scriptures'' (also known as ''Tudorites''). The Christian Evangelical Church was thus formed, with 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 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 ...
. (The difference stemmed from the tradition whence each emerged: Plymouth Brethren and
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 ...
, respectively.) Banned 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 10 March 2010
in 1946, the Evangelical Christians were recognised as a religious body by the Romanian state, having once again merged with the Tudorites and a splinter group called "Christians" centred at Ploieşti. In 1950, soon after the advent of 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 ...
, the Christian Evangelicals had 600 churches; a large number of smaller ones were officially closed following a state ruling that they must have at least twenty members, but many of them probably continued to meet quietly. In the late 1970s, the group claimed to have nearly 400 churches, a number of which awaited official registration, and around 55,000 members. A number of scholars suggest a figure of 120,000, but this is likely based on Tudorite support within the Orthodox Church and also includes a considerable number who had not formally transferred their membership and thus were not listed as members. By the 1980s, there was a full-time secretary and a three-member executive committee in Bucharest, although there was a great deal of ambiguity regarding the committee's authority. The church received no state aid, supporting itself entirely from member contributions. Members also had social concerns, supporting a ninety-member leprosy community. Doctrinally, the church was closest to the
Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...
s, with whom it shared a pension programme. It had relationships with Brethren churches in California, Canada, Czechoslovakia, England, Germany, Hungary and Switzerland. In a display of support for their colleagues, representatives from these foreign communities attended the peace conferences allegedly sponsored by the Romanian religious communities in the 1980s.Pope, p.188 The church had occasional difficulties with the Communist state. Its entire leadership was dismissed in 1984 for failing to exercise the required supervision over its assemblies regarding unofficial religious services. Local and regional officials of the Department of Religious Affairs viewed as responsible for allowing these unofficial gatherings to take place were also fired. Church officials were indicted for failing to expel members who had been convicted of illegal Bible distribution. The Department of Religious Affairs intervened and appointed the church's new leadership. Following the 1989 Revolution and the fall of the regime, the two branches split, ostensibly over the issue of baptism, with the second becoming the Evangelical Church of Romania.Pope, p.201


Beliefs and organisation

Members see as their forerunners those who thought the church had lost its ability to preach the Gospel after
Constantine the Great Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...
's
Edict of Milan The Edict of Milan ( la, Edictum Mediolanense; el, Διάταγμα τῶν Μεδιολάνων, ''Diatagma tōn Mediolanōn'') was the February 313 AD agreement to treat Christians benevolently within the Roman Empire. Frend, W. H. C. ( ...
proclaimed
religious toleration Religious toleration may signify "no more than forbearance and the permission given by the adherents of a dominant religion for other religions to exist, even though the latter are looked on with disapproval as inferior, mistaken, or harmful". ...
for Christians in 313 AD. They thus seek a restoration of
early Christianity Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish ...
and recognise no hierarchy other than the "headship of Christ". Their focus is on the supreme importance of inner religious life; perceiving the world to be corrupt, they look forward to the
premillennial Premillennialism, in Christian eschatology, is the belief that Jesus will physically return to the Earth (the Second Coming) before the Millennium, a literal thousand-year golden age of peace. Premillennialism is based upon a literal interpreta ...
era. The church stresses a strong focus on the Bible and spontaneous divine leading in its services rather than carefully orchestrated worship. Romanian Orthodox theologian
Petru Deheleanu Petru is a given name, and may refer to: * Petru I of Moldavia (Petru Mușat, 1375–1391), ruler of Moldavia * Petru Aron (died 1467), ruler of Moldavia * Petru Bălan (born 1976), Romanian rugby union footballer * Petru Cărare (1935–2019), wri ...
noted doctrinal similarities to the Tudorites and the Baptists. According to the 2011 census, the church had 42,495 members, making up 0.2% of the population; it was the country's 11th largest recognised religious body."Populaţia stabilă după etnie şi religie – categorii de localităţi"
at the 2011 census official site; accessed June 2, 2015
There is no hierarchy; instead, the church is completely reliant on a lay ministry. Bible readings and expositions, prayers and fervent singing are a feature of services. There is a spontaneity that leads to considerable member participation, and individual churches express a strong measure of autonomy. At the local level, each church or "gathering" has at least twenty adult members and is led by two to five "elders" or presbyters, who also function as preachers of the Gospel. As of 2008, there were 678 churches and 724 preachers. In 1994, a new structure, the zonal community, was introduced. There are sixteen of these, led by a brethren assembly that elects a leadership committee and is itself elected by the general conference. At the national level, the Union of Christian Evangelical Churches is led by a national brethren assembly that elects the permanent leadership, a president and two vice-presidents. The union's highest body is the quadrennial general conference, which elects the national brethren assembly and confirms the union's permanent leadership. The church runs the university-level Timotheus Theological Institute in Bucharest and five Bible schools. Since 1949, it has edited ''Calea Credinţei'' ("The Path of Faith"), as well as the magazine ''Ecouri creştine'' ("Christian Echoes"), expressing its pietistic orientation to life. It has also published a number of theological works. Since 1990, it has run some forty associations and foundations. These involve most church members, and among their activities are teaching, orphanages, kindergartens and relief work. Also since that time, the church has re-established links with evangelical churches outside Romania, and joint projects have included evangelisation, exchanges of Biblical studies and charitable activities.


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. {{Romanian religions Plymouth Brethren Evangelicalism in Romania Religious organizations established in the 1930s Religious organizations based in Bucharest ro:Biserica Creștină după Evanghelie