Twenty years of freedom: Croatian seminary conference looks ahead after the Berlin wall

The Evangelical Theological Seminary (ETS) in Osijek, Croatia, recently hosted a conference called “Celebrating and Assessing 20 Years of Freedom: Challenges for Church and Society in Post-Communist Contexts.” The international conference celebrated 20 years since the fall of the Berlin wall and served to assess what freedoms and changes had been made for the benefit of the people in the post-Communistic society, as well as look to the future.

Participating experts were from various parts, religions and worldviews. Two ambassadors from Poland and the Czech Republic spoke about the experiences of their countries after the fall of Communism and shared their views of the future and their countries’ efforts in that direction.

Other presentation topics included:

• Church and society in transition
• Justice and reconciliation
• Theological education, missions and proselytism
• Majorities and minorities in post-Communistic society
• Media and technology
• Publishing and theological sources
• Art and culture

The conference also featured a Christian book exhibition. More than 20 publishers from Croatia were present with over 200 titles.

It is estimated that around 1,000 people visited the conference and exhibition during its 4-day duration. Guests included those from the region, Europe and the U.S., ambassadors, city and county representatives, scholars and representatives of numerous religious communities in Croatia. A great number of students, representatives of civil society, religious communities and other institutions and organizations from Osijek also participated. The event was reported in newspapers and on local and national television.

One participant said, “It's a rarity to see theologians of all colors speaking about mutual questions supplementing each other….That's what you gained with this conference, by the spirit of unity that [ETS] brought in organizing this exceptional event and choice of participants. Thank you.”

If you would like to support the training of future ministry leaders at schools around the world like ETS, please click here.