The first ordination of a Romanian United Methodist pastor was one of the highlights of Bulgaria-Romania Provisional Conference, held March 22-25 in Varna, Bulgaria. An elder from Bulgaria was also ordained.
The Rev. Rares Calugar was pastor of an independent congregation in Cluj-Napoca which joined The United Methodist Church in 2011. Calugar then started his theological education in English with the distance learning program of the Baltic Methodist Theological Seminary in Tallinn, Estonia. He also completed the courses of the Methodist e-Academy, an online theological program in Europe.
Calugar was a provisional member of the Bulgaria-Romania Conference for three years before his ordination on March 25. Parents, siblings, and children came from Romania to Varna/Bulgaria in order to celebrate this unique and memorable experience with him.
The admission of the church to the denomination began with a visit by Central and Southern Europe Area Bishop Patrick Streiff. The members of Cluj-Napoca, then an independent congregation, had a different understanding of their ministry than most of the other Protestant congregations had. They called themselves "born-again Orthodox" and did not define their identity by opposition to the Orthodox Church.
They told Streiff they wanted to put their faith into action and care for elderly and lonely people in the villages surrounding Cluj-Napoca. "Actually, you already live out what is essential for us as Methodists – even though you do not call yourselves Methodists," Streiff told them.
The young Romanian adults who led the congregation said, "Bishop, we have the fire of the Holy Spirit, but we need a spiritual supervision and a transparent church order, because we want this church to be still alive when our children are in our age."
They had experienced too many disappointments with new Protestant congregations that came into being shortly after the political upheaval of 1989 and the end of 42 years of Communism in Romania. But those congregations disintegrated or were dissolved after a relatively short period of time. After this first visit of the bishop, the Romanians spent about three months praying and getting to know the doctrine and the order of The United Methodist Church, before unanimously deciding to join the denomination in the summer of 2011.
The Rev. Jessica Morris-Ivanova from Bulgaria was admitted as a full clergy member and ordained on March 25 as well. She had come to Bulgaria as a missionary of the Church of the Nazarene, had got to know her future husband and joined The United Methodist Church after her marriage. Her ordination as elder was recognized in the Sunday worship service that concluded the 2018 session of the Bulgaria-Romania Conference. Her husband, Ivajlo Ivanov, and another pastor, Krassimir Madzharov from the Turkish-speaking congregation in Burgas, were admitted as provisional members during the conference session.
The conference had started with a "theme day" focusing on unity. Various lectures and a time for conversations and discussion had helped to highlight different aspects of the theme: biblical foundation, Methodist emphases and missional orientation. The day was organized against the background of questions regarding the understanding of homosexuality and the upcoming special called General Conference in February 2019.
No new delegates were elected for the special called General Conference, so the delegates who served in 2016 will represent the conference.
Professing membership at the end of 2017 was at 1,196, down 38 from 2016.
The next session of the Bulgaria-Romania Provisional Conference will be held from April 4 to 7, 2019. The place has not yet been decided upon.
-- Bishop Patrick Streiff
Like what you're reading? Support the ministry of UM News! Your support ensures the latest denominational news, dynamic stories and informative articles will continue to connect our global community. Make a tax-deductible donation at ResourceUMC.org/GiveUMCom.