Church, Church, Church, and ... Church and.... Church

Okay, so Steve told you about our tour of the old town yesterday. Let me elaborate on a few things.

Flavius is a wonderful young man. He is Ovie's cousin, if you remember one of the earlier blogs where Steve posted some pics. He was employed as a truck delivery driver but was laid off about seven to eight months ago. And he also pastors two small churches in the area of Avrig, a large village about 30 kilometers southeast of Sibiu. He is very proud of his hometown of Sibiu and was very happy to be able to show it to us.

The history of the Lutheran or Evangelical Church building is a major illustration of the history of Sibiu and of Transylvania in general. In an area where the Orthodox Church is so dominant it is the Hungarian and Germanic influence that is best seen in this church building. It took over 200 years to build this great cathedral and it is ironic that after a few decades after completion, the congregation and church building become Protestant because of the Reformation.

I really wanted Jerry and Steve to see the Orthodox Church because it is the dominant faiith expression in Romania. There is so much in that place that is so steeped in tradition. The lines of people that were waiting to kiss and pray before icons. And as we were leaving the huge line that waited patiently to worship before a chest full of the bones of a saint. This is the faith that dominates and oppresses the vast majority of Romanian people. It is easy to forget that the work of the Gospel here must be seen in the background of this.

When we walked into the Roman Catholic church, the irony of the Reformation became clear. This building is much more modest and scaled back from the Evangelical church that was originally built by Roman Catholics. The few people praying in there is again indicative of the stranglehold that the Orthodox church has on the people.

In the afternoon, I went to the ecumenical prayer gathering in a small Evangelical (Lutheran) church just outside the town center (a few blocks from the Orthodox church building). It is again easy to forget the influence of the modern world and Western Europe on this community. Yet here again, though most were evangelical Christian, there was an influence of secular, ecumencial thought that entered into the prayers for Sibiu, Romania, Europe, and the World.

Finally, after picking up Tony at the airport, we went to a men's bible study in a small, ultra-conservative evangelical church. Here the oppression is in narrow-minded, almost legalistic adherance to church rules and regulations and a warped perception of what holiness is all about. Our discussion was lively even though we, at the time, did not know or realize the background of the conversation. I thank God that we didn't. I believe in our many journeys of the day through so many different churches and expressions of what people think Christian faith is all about helped me to focus and teach what I thought biblical principles of churchmanship is. I'm so grateful that, on the surface, these men were open and willing to accept what I had to offer. And I pray that we, as Americans and Christians, helped to focus them in the right direction.

Today, we go to Slimnic and I hope to share more of what God wants us involved with in that ministry to seniors.