The Revolution of December 1989 had a significant impact on, and played a special role in, Romanian society, both through the overthrow of totalitarianism and the events that followed. Starting with these aspects, this study aims to explore this event, highlighting the role played by Christians and the Baptist churches in particular. From the desire for freedom, including religious freedom, to concrete actions of protest, emotional support, or discourses expounding the role of God in these events, I observe a strong desire for change, followed by involvement in society on social, educational, or political levels.

[1] Bogdan Emanuel Răduț, “O analiză privind ecoul revoluției române reflectat în presa evanghelică din ianuarie 1990” [An analysis of the echo of the Romanian revolution reflected in the evangelical press in January 1990], in Eugen Petrescu, ed., Istoricul și arhivistul Tudor Raţoi la 65 de ani [Historian and archivist Tudor Rațoi at 65] (Craiova: Universitaria, 2018), 624-633; Bogdan Emanuel Răduț, “Revolutia Română din Decembrie 1989: o reconsiderare din perspectiva evanghelicilor români” [The Romanian Revolution of December 1989: a reconsideration from the perspective of Romanian Evangelicals], Memoria. Revista gândirii arestate 4, no. 93 (2015): 61-70; Bogdan Emanuel Răduț, “Contribuția și perspectiva evanghelicilor români asupra revoluției române din decembrie 1989” [The Contribution and Perspective of Romanian Evangelicals on the Romanian Revolution of December 1989], Arhivele Olteniei, new series, no. 30, Volume dedicated to the 150th anniversary of the founding of the Romanian Academy (București: Editura Academiei Române, 2016), 203-216; Bogdan Emanuel Răduț, “First meeting of the Baptist Union Committee after the December 1989 revolution”, Arhiva Baptista I, no. 3 (2019): 23-24.

[2] Important and valuable information was received from Doru Radu, Ionel Tuțac, Mircea Bulatov, and Octavian Baban. Doru Radu, a faithful Baptist from the Arad area, currently resides in America; Ionel Tuțac was, and still is, a Baptist pastor in Timiș County. Mircea Bulatov is currently a retired engineer and a faithful Baptist at the Nădejdea Baptist Church in the Giulești neighborhood of Bucharest. Octavian Baban is a faithful Baptist involved in religious activities within Baptist churches. In 1989, he was an engineer at the Midia-Navodari platform, living in Constanța, and serving in the Baptist church in the city. Currently, he is a pastor at the Holy Trinity Christian Baptist Church in Bucharest.

[3] Petru Dugulescu¸ Ei mi-au programat moartea [They Programmed my Death] (Timișoara: Marineasa, 2003).

[4] Alexa Popovici¸ Istoria baptiștilor din România: 1856-1989 [History of Baptists in Romania: 1856-1989] (Oradea: Făclia; Editura Universității Emanuel din Oradea, 2007)

[5] Domnita Ștefanescu, Cinci ani din istoria României. O cronologie a evenimentelor decembrie 1989 - decembrie 1994 [Five years of Romanian history. A chronology of events December 1989 - December 1994] (Bucuresti: Editura Mașina de scris, 1995).

[6] Stelian Tănase, Istoria căderii regimurilor comuniste [History of the fall of communist regimes] (Petrești: Publisol, 2022).

[7] Ștefănescu, Cinci ani din istoria României, 2.

[8] Meanwhile, in exile in the West, Iosif Ton intensified his assault through Romanian airwaves via Radio Free Europe. “A change is approaching in Romania,” stated Dr. Ton. “Christians, be prepared!”’ Charles W. Colson and Ellen Santilli Vaughn, The body: being light in darkness (USA: Word Publishing, 1992), 217. The believers from western Romania heard his challenge with a mixture of joy and astonishment.

[9] Tănase, Istoria căderii regimurilor comuniste, 431-432.

[10] Earl A. Pope, “The Role of Religion in the Romanian Revolution”, Occasional Papers on Religion in Eastern Europe 12, no. 2 (March, 1992): 4.

[11] Ștefanescu, Cinci ani din istoria României, 7.

[12] Răduț, “Contribuția și perspectiva evanghelicilor români,” 205.

[13] “The new building was dedicated on December 10, 1989, on the first day of a week that was to open a new era in the history of Romania, the Timisoara Revolution.”. Petru Dugulescu¸ Ei mi-au programat moartea, 253.

[14] Petru Dugulescu (1945-2008), Baptist pastor and politician.

[15] Petru Dugulescu¸ Ei mi-au programat moartea, 253.

[16] Paul Negruț graduated in psychology from the University of Bucharest and has been the pastor of the Christian Baptist Church No. 2 in Oradea since 1981, now known as Emanuel Church.

[17] László Tökés (n. 1952), Reformed pastor and politician.

[18] Electronic correspondence between Marius Silveșan and Doru Radu (June 19, 2023).

[19] Dugulescu had suffered in the past as a result of confrontations with the Securitate. See in this regard Dugulescu, Ei mi-au programat moartea; Colson and Vaughn, The body: being light in darkness, 209.

[20] Inauguration of the new place of worship, its dedication.

[21] Reference to the 14th Congress of the P.C.R. Electronic correspondence between Marius Silveșan and Doru Radu (June 19, 2023).

[22] His situation in the eyes of the regime became more complicated as, in August 1989, he gave an interview to a Hungarian television criticizing the village systematisation plan, mentioning that ethnic Hungarians would be affected by it. The interview broadcast in Hungary was later picked up by Radio Free Europe, the BBC and other Western radio stations, becoming a criticism of the communist regime. Colson and Vaughn, The body: being light in darkness, 55-56.

[23] This happened on the evening of December 15, 1989. Vezi Dugulescu, Ei mi-au programat moartea, 256.

[24] Electronic correspondence between Marius Silveșan and Doru Radu (June 19, 2023).

[25] Dugulescu, Ei mi-au programat moartea, 256-290.

[26] Dugulescu, Ei mi-au programat moartea, 256. Raduț, “Contribuția și perspectiva evanghelicilor români,” 205.

[27] Namely, the fact that Pastor Tokes and his family were to be forcibly evicted from the parsonage and from Timișoara by the Militia and the Securitate.

[28] Dugulescu, Ei mi-au programat moartea, 255.

[29] Ionel Tuțac was born on September 20, 1967, into the family of Laurentiu and Magdalena Tuțac, in the locality of Costeiu de Sus. He mentions that he is of the fourth generation of Baptists, both on his father’s and mother’s sides. His great-grandparents were among the first Baptist believers in the localities of Costeiu de Sus, Timis, and Gurasada, Hunedoara. This information comes from an interview with Pastor Ionel Tuțac conducted by Marius Silvesan in August 2023. A graduate of the Baptist Theological Institute in Bucharest, he is currently the pastor at Harul Church in Lugoj, where he was ordained in 1993.

[30] Interview with Pastor Ionel Tuțac, August 2023.

[31] Dugulescu, Ei mi-au programat moartea, 256.

[32] Ibid.

[33] Ibid., 257.

[34] Tănase, Istoria caderii regimurilor comuniste, 435.

[35] Ștefanescu, Cinci ani din istoria României, 7.

[36] Ibid., 8.

[37] Interview with Pastor Ionel Tuțac, August 2023.

[38] Raduț, “Contribuția și perspectiva evanghelicilor români,” 208.

[39] Ibid.

[40] Email correspondence between Bogdan Emanuel Răduț and Paul Negruț, in Răduț, “Contribuția și perspectiva evanghelicilor români,” 208.

[41] Interview with Pastor Ionel Tuțac, August 2023.

[42] Dugulescu, Ei mi-au programat moartea, 262.

[43] Ibid., 263.

[44] Dănuț was saved from death by someone who transported him by car to the Orthopedic Hospital where his leg was amputated; otherwise, we would be talking about the fact that the wounded who were taken by the rescue cars 'were shot outside the city'. Dugulescu, Ei mi-au programat moartea, 264.

[45] Dugulescu, Ei mi-au programat moartea, 263.

[46] Ibid., 264-265.

[47] Ibid., 267.

[48] Ibid., 269.

[49] Ibid.

[50] Ibid., 270.

[51] Baptist believer, future pastor. For more information about Ionel Tuțac see note 29.

[52] Interview with Pastor Ionel Tuțac.

[53] Interview with Pastor Ionel Tuțac.

[54] Dugulescu, Ei mi-au programat moartea, 273.

[55] Ibid.

[56] Ibid., 275.

[57] Ibid., 276.

[58] Ibid., 279.

[59] Ibid., 282.

[60] Ibid.

[61] Ibid., 285.

[62] Georgeta Stanici, “23 decembrie 1989: zi ciudată în țară, prima televiziune privată la Timișoara” [23 December 1989: a strange day in the country, the first private television in Timisoara], accessed February 21, 2024, https://www.pressalert.ro/2013/12/23-decembrie-1989-zi-ciudata-tara-prima-televiziune-privata-la-timisoara/.

[63] Anton Kovacs, “23 decembrie 1989 – Prima zi în minunata lume nouă” [3 December 1989 - The first day in the wonderful new world], accessed February 21, 2024, https://infotimisoara.ro/23-decembrie-1989-prima-zi-in-minunata-lume-noua/.

[64] Ibid. Reference to writer Aldous Huxley's famous book, Brave New World, published in 1931.

[65] Dugulescu, Ei mi-au programat moartea, 288.

[66] Doru Radu.

[67] Electronic correspondence Marius Silveșan - Doru Radu (June 19, 2023)..

[68] “December 21, 2021, Lucian Șerban, interview with the writer and journalist Emil Simandan,” accesed January 20, 2024, https://www.arq.ro/32-de-ani-de-la-revolutia-din-decembrie-1989-de-la-arad/44914.

[69] Victor Braica entered the Council (Provisional Council of National Union - CPUN) on the night of the 22nd to the 23rd and became responsible for religious affairs in the Timișoara county. He brought Dorel (Doru) Popa, Maranata pastor, into the Council, who would later become the mayor, having joined the Council as a representative of human rights.

[70] Electronic correspondence Marius Silveșan - Doru Radu (June 19, 2023).

[71] Dorel Popa, also known as Doru Popa (1954-2014), a faithful Baptist, graduated from the Faculty of “Machine Construction Technology” in Timisoara. In 1979, he married Lidia, and in 1981, they had a son, Emanuel Horatiu. He got involved in youth work during his university years, and in 1985, he was elected as a member of the committee of the Hope Baptist Church in Arad. Two years later, in 1987, he was elected as the pastor of the same church. However, his ordination, scheduled for six months later, did not take place due to opposition from the Department of Cults and the Securitate. He was expelled from the Baptist denomination but was later reinstated in 1988. In 1989, during the celebration of Jesus’ triumphant entry into Jerusalem (popularly known as Palm Sunday), Dorel Popa was ordained as the pastor of the Baptist Church in Pancota, Arad County. Regarding his theological education, it's worth mentioning that he attended the Biblical Education by Extension (BEE) courses under the coordination of Pastor Radu Gheorghiță within a group of seven laypersons.

On February 3, 1990, he founded the Maranata Baptist Church in Arad together with a group of 136 believers, becoming its pastor. In the year 2000, he was elected mayor of Arad, serving in this position for one term from 2000 to 2004. On February 16, 2014, at the age of 60, he passed away due to a heart attack. “Daniel Cojita, Obituary for Pastor Dorel Popa.”, Marius Silveșan, accessed August 26, 2023, https://istorieevanghelica.ro/2014/03/15/daniel-cojita-necrolog-pastor-dorel-popa/.

[72] Dorel Popa became a local member of CPUN as a representative for human rights and later the mayor of Arad.

[73] Electronic correspondence Marius Silveșan - Doru Radu (June 19, 2023).

[74] Electronic correspondence Marius Silveșan - Doru Radu (June 19, 2023).

[75] Electronic correspondence Marius Silveșan - Doru Radu (June 19, 2023).

[76] The Popa family photo archive. Picture with the balcony of the National Bank of Arad.

[77] Cristian Moisescu became a Provisional Council of National Unity member responsible for education, and in 1992, the first evangelical mayor of Arad.

[78] Information received from Manuela's husband, the daughter of Aurel Crișan, through Mr. Doru Radu.

[79] Dugulescu, Ei mi-au programat moartea, 278.

[80] Vasile Alexandru Talos (1994-2020) was a Baptist pastor and a member of the editorial board of the magazine Îndrumătorul Creștin Baptist, the official press organ of the Baptist Christian denomination during the communist period. He was a professor at the Baptist Theological Seminary in Bucharest (approximately 1974-1977), where he taught Church Law and the Old Testament. After the December 1989 Revolution, he served as the president of the Baptist Christian Denomination in Romania (1991-1999), as a professor at the Baptist Theological Institute in Bucharest (1990-1998), and at Emanuel University in Oradea (1998-2004). 

[81] Dugulescu, Ei mi-au programat moartea, 269.

[82] E-mail correspondence between Bogdan Emanuel Răduț and Vasile Alexandru Taloș, July 22, 2014 in Răduț,” Contribuția și perspectiva evanghelicilor români”, 209-210.

[83] Mircea Bulatov, Baptist believer, member of the Hope Baptist Church in Bucharest.

[84] A collage of photos from those days in Bucharest can be found under the title 'Nu te-am uitat! Decembrie '89, accessed August 30, 2023, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4LsPZHtNJk.

[85] Information received from Mircea Bulatov, August 2023.

[86] Information received from Mircea Bulatov, August 2023.

[87] Ibid.

[88] Interview by Marius Silveșan with Pastor Octavian Baban (born in 1961), August 2023.

[89] Ibid.

[90] Interview by Marius Silvesan with Pastor Octavian Baban (born in 1961), August 2023.

[91] Traian Grec, “Isus Hristos și libertatea” [Jesus Christ and Freedom], Îndrumătorul creștin baptist, Organ de presă al Cultului Creștin Baptist XXXXV, no. 1 (January-February 1990): 1, 10.

[92] Ibid., 1.

[93] Ibid.

[94] Ibid., 10.

[95] Iulian Tătaru, “Renașterea spirituală” [Spiritual revival], Îndrumătorul creștin baptist, Organ de presă al Cultului Creștin Baptist, XXXXIV, no. 1, (January-February 1990):  12, 19.

[96] Ibid., 12.

[97] Ibid., 19.

[98] This phrase originates with Abraham Lincoln, U.S. president during the American Civil War (1861-1865), through a letter to a mother who lost two sons on the battlefield. ‘Letter to Mrs. Bixby’, accessed February 21, 2024, https://www.abrahamlincolnonline.org/lincoln/speeches/ bixby.htm.

[99] The Heavy Machinery Enterprise Bucharest.

[100] Iulian Tătaru, “Știri religioase” [Religious News], Îndrumătorul creștin baptist, Organ de presă al Cultului Creștin Baptist, XXXXIV, no. 1 (January-February 1990):  21.

[101] Iulian Tătaru, “Libertate, Libertate” [Freedom, Freedom], Îndrumătorul creștin baptist, Organ de presă al Cultului Creștin Baptist XXXXIV, no. 2 (March – April 1990): 1, 16, 17.

[102] Ibid., 1.

[103] Popovici, Istoria baptiștilor din România 1856-1989, 853.

[104] Ibid.

[105] Interview with Pastor Ionel Tuțac.

[106] Email correspondence between Doru Radu and Marius Silvesan (August 29, 2023).

[107] For details about his post-December activity, see Petru Dugulescu, Democrație și persecuție [Democracy and Persecution], (Arad: Multimedia International, 2007).

[108] Interview with Pastor Ionel Tuțac.

[109] Dugulescu, Ei mi-au programat moartea, 291-322.

[110] Ibid., 304.

[111] “Constituirea Alianței Evanghelice din România” [Establishment of the Evangelical Alliance of Romania], in Îndrumătorul creștin baptist, Organ de presă al Cultului Creștin Baptist, XXXXIV, no. 2 (March – April 1990): 3.