On Sabbath, August 5, 2023, the celebration of the 100th anniversary the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Perieni, Romania, was attended by many dignitaries: Pastor Aurel Neațu, president of the Romanian Union; Pastor Tiberiu Nica, president of the Moldova Conference; the Honorable Alexandru Muraru, Member of Parliament; Zamisnicu Ticu Constantit, mayor of Probota; and pastors who served in the Perieni Church, along with many other guests.

Muraru stated, "At the celebration of this wonderful centenary, I expressed my deep gratitude to all the people who have sacrificed time and resources to make this church endure over the years. It was an occasion to honor our pastors, our forefathers, and all the faithful members who kept the faith alive and laid the first brick to the church we honor, today, in Perieni.”

Muraru concluded, “Over the years, this church has been a shelter in times of storm, a place of comfort in times of sorrow, and a source of hope in times of uncertainty. It has been a spiritual home for families, a sanctuary for the soul, and a place of service and compassion. For a century, it has been a place of divine light and a source of inspiration for all who seek spiritual uplift and connection with the divine.”

Short Summary of the Adventist Church in Romania

In 1868-69, Michał Belina-Czechowski, a former Roman Catholic priest who had embraced Adventism in the United States, arrived at Pitești and introduced Seventh-Day Adventist doctrines into Romania.

In 1890, Ludwig R. Conradi entered Transylvania, then part of Austria-Hungary, in search of converts. As a result of Conradi's efforts, by the mid-1890s, several individuals in Cluj had converted to Adventism.

Meanwhile, in 1892, Conradi organized several ethnic German Adventists who had recently moved from the Russian Empire to the Kingdom of Romania into a church. Eventually, these Adventists settled in Viile Noi, a neighborhood of Constanța.

Conferences were organized from 1907, and the Romanian Union Conference was formed in 1919, with about 2,000 members. Starting in 1908, Romanian Adventists had their publications printed by the Hamburg Press in Germany, but in 1920, they established the Adventist Publishing House in Bucharest. Three years later, the Romanian Union Theology College opened in Bucharest.

The original version of this story was posted on the Inter-European Division website.