Representatives of the Centre for Protestant Theology in Eastern Europe (ZETO) visited our Institute

On 29 March 2022, representatives of the Centre for Protestant Theology in Eastern Europe (ZETO) by Gerhard Servatius-Depner, pastor of Mediaș and Dr. András Bándi, church historian and archivist of the diocesan archives visited the Protestant Theological Institute. The aim of the event was to strengthen the relationship between our institutions and to develop a strategic partnerships.


On 29 March 2022, representatives of the Centre for Protestant Theology in Eastern Europe (ZETO) by Gerhard Servatius-Depner, pastor of Mediaș and Dr. András Bándi, church historian and archivist of the diocesan archives visited the Protestant Theological Institute. The aim of the event was to strengthen the relationship between our institutions and to develop a strategic partnerships.

The meeting started with a discussion with the institutional leadership, where problems of the current national and international affairs were dealt with, among other things, the regrettable large-scale withdrawal of the Romanian Orthodox Church from ecumenical activities. Such events makes it even more important to emphasise the Protestant presence in the region. This is the goal of ZETO and it counts on the cooperation of the PTI.

The Centre for Protestant Theology in Eastern Europe (ZETO) aims to promote existing work in three areas: social, educational and ecumenical. All three have their strategic support within the Lutheran Church in Sibiu. The Teutsch Haus aims to communicate Protestant values to society at a cultural level, the theological department promotes Protestant education, and the intensive German language course financed by the German aid organisation Brot für die Welt prepares for studies in Germany. Applications from PTI are also welcome in any of these programs. The Ecumenical Institute in Sibiu, previously run jointly with the Orthodox Faculty of Theology, is currently being reorganised due to the impossibility of joint cooperation, but it is hoped that it will be able to continue its work in a new framework. ZETO also intends to help with similar projects in Cluj. A good example of this was the organisation's support for the purchase of digital equipment, which enabled three of the students of PTI to receive laptops during the period of online education.

The meeting continued with a lecture by Dr. András Bándi, entitled "Election of Ministers in the 17th Century Dioceses of Sebeș". After a short historical introduction, the lecture described the earlier practice of the way ministers were elected, and then illustrated the duties, rights and problems of church servants applying for a new ministry, using 17th century examples. The presentation, which included discussions of case studies, gave a vivid insight into the contemporary church life of a small region.

After the lecture, a short meeting with the teachers of the PTI took place, followed by lunch and a short presentation of the Institution.