The challenges are different, but they’re still challenges.
Sylvain Romain, outgoing president of the Albanian Mission of Seventh-day Adventists, recently talked with Adventist World associate publisher Claude Richli about the joys and challenges of Adventist life in Albania. Romain served as a missionary in Thailand in the 1980s, in Turkey in the 1990s, and most recently in Albania. He is now the district pastor in Bogenhofen, Austria.
RICHLI: Sylvain, tell me about your background in Adventism.
ROMAIN: I’m in the sixth generation of Adventist pastors and missionaries in my family, so I was raised with the Word of God, end-time prophecy, and a passion for Jesus and His mission. This is a huge grace and a privilege. I’ve lived and worked on three continents, and my life has been moved by a burning desire to spread the gospel.
You’ve lived and worked in many places, and, as I recall, speak many languages. Your last assignment was to lead the Albanian mission. Tell me about the challenges you faced in this region.
Albania is a European country where elderly Balkan women in black outfits push their cows along the dusty roads, while the men sit and drink coffee. For 45 years it was reputed to be the most restrictive Communist regime in the world. People were completely isolated from the rest of the world, and the ban on religion was so severe that just wishing someone a “Merry Christmas” would bring you six years of imprisonment. However, this ended 18 years ago, in 1991. Since then, Albanians have been suffering from an unquenchable thirst to catch up with the Western world. They have quickly learned the rules of a free market.
While the economic situation has considerably improved, residents still struggle with daily power outages and chaotic traffic. The biggest challenge, though, is bringing structure to the lives of these extremely friendly people, who have begun to lose their hopeful vision of a better life because of the side effects of uncontrolled freedom and growth. They desire a more meaningful life and a better lifestyle, so providing solutions to the dilemma is both our opportunity and our challenge.
Describe the religious situation there.
EVANGELISTIC CENTER: Sylvain Romain, president of the Albanian Mission when this photo was taken, assists university students with a research project at the Adventist-owned Evangelistic Center in downtown Tirana.Seventy percent of Albanians are Muslim; most of the rest are Greek Orthodox or Roman Catholic. Yet most people have no connection with the religion of their ancestors. Two generations without God have resulted in their having no religion to teach to their children. Without religious books and church buildings, the values of society were based on superstition and old customs such as blood feuds or forced marriages.
What did you try to do when you first arrived?
I arrived in a country that had been enjoying full religious freedom for 15 years. The beginning of this time of freedom and openness was pure euphoria. Everyone wanted to know about God, the West, and the rest of the world. The churches, including ours, grew very fast.
The problem was that at the end of Communism, the country needed so much material help that the first foreign visitors had to focus on basic aid. Christianity, therefore, was presented mainly in its social dimension. It soon became almost impossible to preach Jesus without promising material advantages. Thus, the newly established Evangelical groups appealed to the disadvantaged classes of society.
Every church needed members. There was also a need to train people as local pastors, but qualified and willing individuals were hard to find. At the same time such an easy field drew lots of foreigners who did not always have the best training or even the best motivation. The result is that the many educated and influential Albanians have come to despise Christianity as a religion that tries to “buy” people, and they ignore the real reasons for its existence.
Did the Adventist Church there respond differently?
In some regards, yes, primarily because of its exceptional theological standards. From the very beginning, this made a strong impression even on high-level government officers. Our church is known for its high intellectual level and has attracted personalities from both social and political life.
Another strength of the church is ADRA [Adventist Development and Relief Agency], which, as the first NGO [nongovernmental organization] presence in Albania, has been careful to distinguish between practical help and evangelism.
Adventists in Albania are known also for their courage during the time of persecution.
Just before the Communist takeover in 1944, a young Albanian left for the United States to study at Harvard University. There, he became an Adventist and decided to return to his country to spread the good news about Jesus, knowing that he would have to face hardship and persecution. He became a true martyr. Until his death as the result of torture, his heroic life impressed many of his prison inmates. When most Albanians dreamed of emigrating to the United States, he graduated from Harvard to come back and die for his faith.
Another well-known example is the Adventist woman who kept her tithe in a box for more than four decades, waiting for the day when she would be able to hand this holy money to the worldwide body of Christ.
Do you mean that the Seventh-day Adventist Church is well known in Albania?
Well, 300 members are not very many—nor are five churches and a few groups. Our pastors are working very hard, but there is still a lot to do. We have been working on a strategy to develop an attractive image of our church in Albanian society.
First, we tried to create a stronger sense of ownership among church members, to involve them in witnessing programs. Then we started establishing contacts with authorities, such as government officers, religious leaders, and other personalities.
What about the wholistic approach that Adventists advocate?
This has been one of my foci. Albanians are asking for training in healthful living and family life; they are ready to spend a lot of money for it. This is why I consider Albania to be a country of unlimited opportunities for health evangelism and educational institutions.
My goal also was to give Albanian Adventists a chance to develop their own business as a place of witnessing. Albanians do not easily accept the concept of missionaries receiving money to preach, but they respect citizens to whom they can relate on an equal level.
God has blessed us with a large number of precious souls.
Deep-rooted and dedicated members, a hard-working pastoral team, an ongoing public relations effort, and a focus on health and education will surely help our church become stronger and stronger until the task has been completed.
Claude Richli is associate publisher for Adventist World.