The “New Evangelization” in Post-Communist Romania: Conflict, Common Witness and Dialogue Between Orthodox and Evangelicals

In post-December Romania of 1989, after the fall of the communist regime, the presence of Christian Churches or groups in the public space became possible again. As a majority Church, the Romanian Orthodox Church (ROC) considered itself entitled to initiate new evangelization activities. At the same time, from the perspective of Western missionary groups, Romania was a terra missionis, which triggered a new wave of hetero-Orthodox missionary projects. Over the course of the last three decades, inter-Christian relations in Romania have gone through conflict, common witness and even dialogue. The primary objective of this research is to offer a revised understanding of the “new evangelization” paradigm in Romania in the late 20th and the beginning of the 21st centuries, from a missiological perspective, considering the Romanian Orthodox–Evangelical relations. This research will also critically present the most important moments of the Christian dialogue, which moved from conflict to common witness and even to official and unofficial dialogue.