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Romanian Conventions Held Despite Opposition

A “Messengers of Godly Peace” International Convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses was scheduled to be held in Bucharest, Romania, from July 19 to 21, 1996. Some 40,000 delegates, including thousands from foreign countries, planned to visit this beautiful European capital of two million people. The National Stadium, with a seating capacity of 60,000, had been booked for the occasion. But then, on June 24, misinformed Romanian officials denied permission to hold the convention.

Jehovah’s Witnesses tried hard to have the order to cancel their convention rescinded, but to no avail. Therefore, arrangements had to be changed so that several thousand foreign delegates invited from a number of European countries, North America, and Japan could attend a convention in Budapest, Hungary, from July 12 to 14. The last-minute changes resulted in considerable expense, inconvenience, and disappointment for many.

But what could be arranged for the local Romanian delegates? Officials in the cities of Cluj-Napoca and Brasov were contacted, and eventually it was possible to hold conventions there, from July 19 to 21. However, many Romanians were unable to get to Cluj-Napoca or Brasov. Therefore, two more conventions were held September 13 to 15, one in Baia-Mare and the other in Bucharest.

Why was the original convention in Bucharest canceled? And what prompted some officials later to alter their viewpoint, so that conventions were held in Romania, including one in Bucharest?

Who Was Behind the Opposition?

During the international convention in Budapest, the Hungarian newspaper Színes Vasárnap observed regarding Jehovah’s Witnesses: “Bucharest was where they originally planned to hold their annual international meeting, but because of opposition from Orthodox Christians, the Romanian officials did not give Jehovah’s Witnesses permission to do so.” That the church was behind the opposition became widely known. For example, Times Union, an Albany, New York, U.S.A., newspaper, reported: “Orthodox Patriarch Teoctist warned Orthodox believers to be on their guard against what he called Jehovah’s Witnesses’ ‘heretical’ beliefs.”

Were the reports about clergy opposition to the convention true? Well, in June, all over the city—on church property, on walls and sides of buildings, and at subways—residents of Bucharest began observing posters that vilified Jehovah’s Witnesses. One entitled “TO ALL ROMANIANS!” asked: “Does Romania need now an international Jehovite convention . . . July 19-21? Christians—let us oppose this convention!”

Another, which carried the heading “Attention to the JEHOVITE DANGER!” asserted: “Jehovah’s Witnesses fight against Christianity . . . They seek to divide our people and to cause religious quarreling. . . . ALL YOU ROMANIANS, fight against this convention!”

“CALL TO ACTION” was the heading of yet another poster. “The Romanian Orthodox Brotherhood . . . calls all Orthodox believers to a protest meeting, which will be held Sunday, June 30.” The poster concluded: “We will ask the authorities to cancel this satanic convention. COME SO THAT WE MAY DEFEND OUR FOREFATHERS’ FAITH. May God help us!”

The clergy even published and distributed a tract that claimed that Jehovah’s Witnesses are “a political organization of communist faction.” But this is also a bold lie, and perhaps most Romanians are well aware that it is. They know that Jehovah’s Witnesses were persecuted and often imprisoned by the Communists in years past.

How Attitudes Were Affected

Voices both inside and outside Romania quickly rose to counter the church-inspired attacks, and government officials could see that granting Witnesses the privileges that were extended to others was only right. The Flagrant, a Bucharest newspaper, predicted: “The current of adversity, hostility, and resentment against this first international convention will have a paradoxical effect. Instead of turning people away from the Witnesses, the action will stir their interest, curiosity, tolerance, and sympathy.”

How true this prediction proved to be! Many Orthodox Church members wrote or called the branch office of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Bucharest and expressed indignation at the actions of their clergy. Informed people know that Jehovah’s Witnesses are not at all what the Orthodox Church in Romania portrayed them to be.

Marius Milla, writing in the Romanian newspaper Timishoara, of July 6, 1996, noted: “I am convinced that 99 percent of those who accused the Jehovites so vehemently did not have enough curiosity to talk to them or to attend one of their meetings.” He added: “It would be much more upbuilding if we, the Orthodox believers, would be more concerned with the rafter in our own eye and leave the straw in the eye of our neighbor to God’s better judgment.”—Matthew 7:3-5.

Then Mr. Milla quoted the speech that the famous first-century lawyer Gamaliel gave to the religious leaders who were opposing Jesus’ followers: “Do not meddle with these men, but let them alone; (because, if this scheme or this work is from men, it will be overthrown; but if it is from God, you will not be able to overthrow them;) otherwise, you may perhaps be found fighters actually against God.” (Acts 5:38, 39) Summing up, Milla wrote: “Our attitude is antidemocratic, unbiblical, and antisocial.”

Soon, criticism of the cancellation of the convention began to come from other parts of Europe and from the United States. The Romanian Helsinki Committee issued a press release that condemned “the public stand taken by Patriarch Teoctist, the representative of the Romanian Orthodox Church, against ‘Jehovah’s Witnesses.’”

Hillary Clinton, wife of the U.S. president, happened to visit Romania at the time. The U.S. ambassador in Romania, Alfred Moses, explained why she did not enter the 18th-century Kretzulescu Church as she had planned: “Religious liberty is a principle sanctioned by the Constitution of the United States of America, as well as the Romanian Constitution. The presence on the church property of posters that denote lack of religious tolerance was not in agreement with the spirit of democratic pluralism and with the purposes of Mrs. Clinton’s visit to Romania.”

Evidence of God’s Support

Jehovah’s Witnesses had held conventions in the city of Cluj-Napoca before, and officials there again welcomed them when they were denied the use of the National Stadium in Bucharest. But it was only a week before the convention was scheduled to begin that the contract for the stadium in Cluj-Napoca was signed. “How is it possible to organize such a huge convention in so short a time?” a reporter wanted to know.

“We are a united organization,” he was told. “We are accustomed to holding conventions. But above all, Jehovah our God is supporting us.”

Truly, it was with Jehovah’s help and backing that so much was accomplished in such a short period of time. Imagine more than 20,000 people assembling together for three days on such short notice! The peak attendance was 22,004, and 799 were baptized. The newspaper Adevărul de Cluj reported after the convention: “The impression given by these people is that they are always smiling and that they are whole-souled in everything they do. Their solidarity was impressive . . . They displayed exemplary discipline in the way they conducted themselves and were extraordinarily clean.”

What occurred in Brasov was especially impressive, since approval to hold the convention was granted only a couple of days before the convention was scheduled to begin! Yet, 7,500 accommodations in private homes were obtained. When one Witness spoke to his neighbors, they accommodated 30 delegates. And a congregation of Witnesses in Brasov had 500 delegates stay with them. Some delegates were accommodated in tents near the convention grounds; and when it rained, hospitable people in nearby apartment buildings came down and invited them to come to their own apartments.—Compare Acts 28:2.

The activity of Jehovah’s Witnesses is restricted in predominantly Orthodox Bulgaria, which borders Romania to the south. When busloads of Bulgarian Witnesses headed for Bucharest, some customs officials apparently already knew about the change in convention sites. In Brasov a total of 1,056 Bulgarians enjoyed the complete program in their own language. Altogether, 12,862 attended the Brasov convention, and 832—66 of whom were Bulgarians—were baptized.

In September it was possible to organize smaller conventions in Baia-Mare and Bucharest for those unable to get to Cluj-Napoca and Brasov. There was a combined attendance of 5,340 at these two additional conventions, and 48 were baptized. Thus at last summer’s “Messengers of Godly Peace” conventions in Romania, a total of 40,206 attended and 1,679 were baptized. Surely, Jehovah’s blessing is upon those trying to serve him in Romania!

A representative of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Bucharest observed: “In three weeks, we got publicity equivalent to years of witnessing throughout the country. What the Romanian Orthodox Church thought would hinder us actually turned out to be for the advancement of the good news.”

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Bucharest is a beautiful, modern city

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Posters that vilified Jehovah’s Witnesses

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Baptism candidates at Bucharest

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At Brasov, where approval to hold the convention was granted only a couple of days in advance

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A peak attendance of 22,004 at the convention in Cluj-Napoca