ELCA NEWS SERVICE

November 3, 2006  

ELCA Presiding Bishop, LWF President Visits Romanian Government Officials
06-167-JB

     BUCHAREST, Romania (ELCA) -- The Rev. Mark S. Hanson,
presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
and president of the Lutheran World Federation (LWF), met Oct. 30
with top officials of the Romanian government here.  Accompanied
by two bishops of Romanian Lutheran churches, the church leaders
may have achieved one of their objectives -- to form partnerships
with the government that could lead to cooperative social
projects funded by the state and the churches.
     Hanson, accompanied by his wife Ione, is in the midst of an
eight-day visit to Hungary and Romania in his role as LWF
president.  They began their visit Oct. 26 as guests of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hungary.  They traveled here
Oct. 30.
     The LWF is a global communion of 140 churches in 78
countries, comprising 66 million Lutherans.
     Romania is a nation of 21 million citizens from a variety of
ethnic backgrounds.  Most Romanians are Orthodox Christians;
about 50,000 are Lutheran.  Until 1989 the country was under
Communist rule, and today it is continuing to develop as a
democratic society.
     During his visit to Romania, Hanson was accompanied by the
Rev. D. Christoph Klein, bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran
Church of the Augsburg Confession in Romania,
Silbiu/Hermannstadt, which primarily serves German-speaking
Romanians, and the Rev. Dezso Zoltan Adorjani, bishop of the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Romania, Cluj/Napoca, made up of
mostly Hungarian-speaking Romanians. Klein is an LWF vice
president; Adorjani is an advisor to the LWF Council.
     They invited Hanson to Romania, asking him to help them work
with the government on some specific concerns:
 + urge enactment of a new "Bill of Religions" to update an old
law adopted in 1948
+ seek return of church property or restitution for church
property seized by the former Communist rule
+ ask the state to address minorities, both national and
religious; state and minority churches, and to ask for a draft a
minority rights document required by the European Union
+ seek work on a bill of education and the situation of church
schools and teaching
+ seek state-church partnerships in education, social, cultural
and media activities
     A key meeting took place Oct. 30 with Calin Popescu
Tariceanu, prime minister of Romania.  During the meeting
Tariceanu asked Adrian Lemeni, secretary of state for religious
affairs, Ministry of Culture and Religious Affairs, "to undertake
an effort to adopt legislation to enable us to become partners"
with the Lutheran churches.
     The prime minister also said he wanted the Lutherans to be
more involved in education projects, and he said property
restitution is an important issue.
     "We have to provide restitution for the property despite the
fact that sometimes we have problems at the local level.  The law
supports (restitution),"  Tariceanu said.  But such an effort
requires significant budget dollars, he said.  Ingrid Zaarour,
president, National Authority for Property Restitutions, was also
in the meeting.
     In an earlier meeting, Lemeni said he was hopeful the
Parliament will adopt a bill on religions by year's end.
     "Our main concern is to have this law as soon as possible,"
said Adorjani.
     Restitution of property is more complex, requiring
documentation, though some restitution has been made, Lemeni
said.
     Adorjani said "process problems" at the local level have
slowed restitution efforts considerably.
     The Lutheran bishops met with Anton Niculescu, secretary of
state for foreign relations; Ted Tanoue, chief advisor of the
political department, U.S. Embassy, Bucharest; Adrian Iorgulescu,
minister of cults and culture; and Bela Marko, vice prime
minister.
     At a luncheon meeting Marko told the Lutherans, "We are
trying to fix mistakes of the Communists against the church, and
we have much to correct.  We have created a framework for
churches to get their property back."
     "We want to accelerate adoption of a law concerning
churches," Marko continued. "Your attention and your interest in
what's going on in Romania honors us."
     At the U.S. Embassy Tanoue said Romanians have achieved a
great deal economically, including the government's decision to
join the European Union effective Jan. 1.  The Romanian economy
has an annual growth rate of 7 to 8 percent per year, he added.

Bishops pleased with government commitments
     The Lutheran bishops held a joint news conference here at
the Evangelical Lutheran Church following the meetings with the
Romanian officials.
     "The Lutheran churches in Romania are ready to be partners
with the private sector and with government in expanding schools,
hospitals and services to those who live in poverty.  We were
very pleased that we heard the prime minister making a strong
commitment toward making this a greater possibility in Romanian
society," Hanson said.
     Hanson said he was pleased Romanian government officials
said they were concerned about restitution issues too and "would
work with us."  He said language for a new bill on religions has
been agreed upon by Romanian church leaders and was adopted by
one of the two houses of Parliament.
     "We hope by the end of the year Romania will adopt this new
law," he said.
     Hanson's visits with government and church leaders here have
helped the Lutherans' local visibility and self-confidence, Klein
said.
     "It's very important because we are a minority church," he
said. "Romanian people, also Orthodox people, know very little
about this church and are sometimes confused with other small
churches.  We are a big church in terms of (the) world.  We are a
big family.  We also have a part in the leadership in the family
of the LWF.''
     Adorjani said he felt the LWF and its president had made a
difference for the local Lutheran churches in working with the
government. "It was a political signal that first of all
Lutheranism is a serious organization, a serious church.  A
signal was most important to give, and the perception was good,
as I saw.  The prime minister was very sympathetic and open, and
he promised us something to move on.  I think it was very
important," he said.
     "Maybe it was a first step to show, even for the Romanian
society, that we are multicultural, and multi-ethnic and multi-
religious.  We are different.  This difference is a constructive
part of this country," Adorjani added.
     The Hansons traveled by car Oct. 30 to Transylvania in
northwestern Romania. The LWF president spent Reformation Day,
Oct. 31, with local pastors.  He also preached a Reformation
sermon at the historic "Black Church" in Bra§ov, Transylvania.
---
     Information about the Lutheran World Federation, the
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Romania and the Evangelical
Lutheran Church C.A. in Romania is at
http://www.lutheranworld.org on the Web.

Comments of Bishop Hanson from the news conference are at:
http://media.ELCA.org/audionews/061102A.mp3

Comments of Bishop Klein from the news conference are at:
http://media.ELCA.org/audionews/061102B.mp3

For information contact:
John Brooks, Director (773) 380-2958 or [log in to unmask]
http://www.elca.org/news
ELCA News Blog: http://www.elca.org/news/blog