History
Romania derives its name from the Romans who occupied its land and made
it a Roman colony in the first century before Christ. Throughout its history
Romania was regularly occupied by foreign powers before becoming a sovereign
nation in 1878. After World War II, Romania was ruled by the Communists.
In 1989, the people revolted and. the Communist leader of Romania, Nicolae
Ceaucescu and his wife were executed. A new constitution was adopted in
1991 and free elections have taken place regularly since then.
Church
History
The Pentecostal Movement in Romania began with one simple tract. Paul Budean,
an Assemblies of God minister, sent a Pentecostal pamphlet to a family in
Romania. This family accepted Christ, received the baptism in the Holy Spirit
and experienced a miraculous healing! They began evangelizing in their community,
and soon after, a thriving church existed in their community.
Religious freedom has had a difficult history in Romania. In 1925, the
government outlawed Pentecostal churches, but believers were not deterred
from evangelizing and regularly meeting together. When Communism took over
Romania, it did not have the same hard-line opposition to religion that
neighboring Communist governments did. But the church still endured much
persecution. In the late 1940’s, the government recognized the Pentecostal
church though their activities were limited. A Pentecostal Bible school
opened in 1973 and became a four-year seminary in 1976. Wayne and Drue Huffman
were the first Assemblies of God missionaries to reside in Romania.
The
Movement Today
Pentecostal churches in Romania freely and boldly proclaim the gospel message
now. The Pentecostal movement in Romania is one of the largest in all of
Europe, with over 2500 churches and 450,000 adherents. There are also numerous
ministry training schools. The US Assemblies of God works in Romania with
the Pentecostal Church and the Romanian Assemblies of God. Christian education
institutions, orphanages, HealthCare Ministries, Book of Hope, children’s
ministries and other entities work to increase the harvest in Romania.
Additional
Facts About Romania
Capital:
Bucharest
Area:
91,700 square miles
Population:
22,271,000
Ethnic Groups: Romanian (85 percent), Hungarian (9 percent)
and Gypsy (4 percent)
Languages: Romanian (official), Hungarian and German
Agriculture:
Grains, grapes, sugar beets and potatoes
Industry: Mining, construction materials, metals, machinery,
oil products, chemicals and food processing. |
