Romania is located in the south-east of Europe. It borders the Ukraine, Moldova, the Black Sea, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia and Hungary. The country capital is Bucharest. Romania has a population of around 21 000 000 people, made up of mainly Romanians, Hungarians, Germans, Turks and Serbians. The biggest percentage of the population is Orthodox, followed by Catholics, Pentecostals, Baptists and others. In December 1989, following the revolution, the communist regime was replaced by a democracy.

Filadelfia Church in Timisoara

Prior to the revolution, biblical training was prohibited in Romania by the Communists, so when the Veritas training started in 1993 it met a tremendous need. The first training was run at the Filadelfia Pentecostal Church in Timisoara. The participants came from this church, some eighteen of its satellite churches and from other churches in the surrounding towns.

The pastors or leaders from the villages can in theory have access to theological training. However, in practice it is impossible for them to attend the training because it is held in Bucharest, 800km from Timisoara and takes four years. That means  they must leave their jobs and families to stay in Bucharest.  During this time they have no means of supporting themselves and their families. Because Veritas trains people in their own churches, pastors and leaders can obtain training while still caring for their families.

A church service

To suit the varied training needs of the local context, Veritas College offers training as follows in various locations:

• Monthly courses -- one Saturday every month
• Intensive courses for a full week
• Fortnightly courses
• Weekly courses in partnership with some theological seminaries and institutes according to their program

Feedback

Tavi says:

"Right after the fall of Communism, a lot of gates were opened for all kinds of bad influences from the Western world. The people in Romania were not equipped to face all this rubbish and there were situations when Christians fell down by following some of this. We think that Veritas training is emphasizing the role of each person to study in depth the Scriptures and to apply them in their personal life. The Word of God is a clear and a pure fountain but Veritas was for us the clean glass we are using to drink the cold water in a hot summer".

Gabi from Iasi says:

"From the moment I chose Him as my personal Savior, I decided to apply His word in my life. I started this course just to understand His word for me. During the time I read the Bible, the things get confused in my mind, but this training gave light in my heart and mind. Understanding became an easy thing for me. All the things that I discovered in the class are useful also in my family".

Luci from Iasi says:

"This training helps me to understand Him better, and also to know my brothers and sisters and myself. I found another side of the Bible, and I realize again that this ”book” cannot be compared with any books from Dostoevsky, Shakespeare or Dante. The training showed us how to “dig” to find out more and more. I was prepared to analyze the text in just a few months because of this simple method of exegesis".