Romania is a sovereign state located in Southeastern Europe. It borders the Black Sea, Bulgaria, Ukraine, Hungary, Serbia, and Moldova. It has an area of 238,391 km2 (91,699 sq. miles) and a temperate-continental climate. With 19.94 million inhabitants, the country is the seventh most populous member state of the European Union. Its capital and largest city, Bucharest, is the sixth largest city in the European Union, with 1,883,425 inhabitants as of 2011.
An overwhelming majority of the population identify themselves as Christians. At the country’s 2011 census, 81.0% of respondents identified as Orthodox Christians belonging to the Romanian Orthodox Church. Other denominations include Protestantism (4.8%), Roman Catholicism (4.3%), and Greek Catholicism (0.8%).
About a hundred years ago, 16 members of the Adventist Church in Targu-Mures were disfellowshipped because of their position against war. This made Targu-Mures one of the pioneer cities on the map of the Reform Movement. The house of worship they bought in those times was later confiscated by the communists. Despite the severe persecution during the communist time, the brethren worshipped the Lord in private homes, paying heavy fines when caught by the secret police.
In the year 1990, after Romania became once again a free religious country, the brethren bought a house for worship. During the following years, besides the meetings of the local church, this house was utilized for many health lectures, nutrition seminars and cooking classes, with an average of 250 to 300 people reached at each of them.
Today, Targu-Mures continues as an important center of our church in the South Ardeal Field, in the central part of the Romanian Union. With more than 142,000 citizens, Targu-Mures is encompassed by many villages in which a good number of our church members live.
A new house of worship became a necessity. The brethren worked hard to realize that, and they reached to the level of building the roof. The resources though, are now exhausted. For this reason, your help will be very much appreciated!
May the Lord bless you richly as you consider a generous offering for this first Sabbath of the month and the new year.
Your brethren and sisters from the Romanian Union