Helping a Distressed Priest

By Gabriel Golea

The Romanian priest came to me with a problem.

“Can you convince the commission members that I have a good job and a good level of education so I can start my doctoral studies?” he said.

The priest had enrolled to study theology at the University of Strasbourg in France, but the doctoral commission had decided that he first needed to repeat a year of undergraduate studies. I was a second-year doctoral student, and he and I struck up a friendship when we realized that we both were from Romania.

Image © Pacific Press

“Do you believe in God?” I asked the priest, smiling.

He was shocked. “Of course, I do!” he said.

“Do you believe in the power of prayer?” I said.

“I believe that God can do miracles,” the priest said.

“I’m not talking about a ritual or some other religious ceremony,” I said. “God can answer our prayers if we pray directly to Him.”

Several days later, I invited the priest to pray with me. “Before I ask the professors, we should make this a matter of prayer,” I said. The priest agreed.

I decided not to try to convince the professors to change the rules for the priest but instead to show them that Romania’s education system met French standards. I met with each of the seven professors who sat on the commission. Each promised to review the matter at the next commission meeting. The professors ended up testing the priest’s knowledge in a special interview and accepting him into the doctoral program. We thanked God for the miracle!

Our friendship flourished over the next two years. The priest often came to my home to talk, eat, and worship with my family. But during his third year, the priest announced that he would leave the program. “I have a new job,” he said. “I have been appointed as Romania’s secretary of state for religious affairs.”

He had become the Romanian government’s top religion official.

You never know the far-reaching influence of your words and actions.

Upon hearing that a priest had taken office, some Adventists in Romania feared restrictions on religious freedom, especially against members of smaller religious denominations like the Seventh-day Adventist Church. But no crackdown materialized. In fact, the priest-turned-government minister was exceedingly fair and objective with people of all faiths.

After he settled into his job, I jokingly asked to visit his office for a photo. “I want to show my children that I know someone famous,” I said.

He laughed. “Come anytime you want,” he said.

We remain friends to this day.

Gabriel Golea is executive secretary of the French-Belgian Union based in Paris, France.

Produced by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission.
Find more mission stories at adventistmission[dot]org

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