Conference Discusses Intersection of Adventist Mission and Orthodox Culture

The Seventh-day Adventist Church’s Trans-European Division (TED), which covers much of central and western Europe, encompasses a diverse religious landscape in which Post-Christian Secularism, Islam, and Eastern Orthodoxy are the dominant worldviews. Eastern Orthodoxy holds a particularly significant cultural and spiritual presence in several countries of the TED. One of the major challenges for Adventism is that Orthodox identity is closely aligned with national identity in nations where most of the population are adherents.

Adventist Mission in Orthodox Cultures

Against this dynamic backdrop, in a historic first for Adventism, more than 100 representatives from 23 countries met in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, November 26-28 for the first-ever Conference on Adventist Mission and Orthodox Culture.

The conference was a collaborative initiative between the TED, the Inter-European Division (EUD), the Ukrainian Union Conference, the Euro-Asia Division (ESD), and the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission. The purpose was to examine the role and effectiveness of the Adventist mission in the context of Orthodox cultures. While the conference included academic papers, a series of “Being an Adventist in My Country” presentations were equally significant in providing the basis for strategic recommendations moving forward.

Five nations within the TED territory have a majority of the population adhering to Orthodoxy: Greece (90 percent); Serbia (84 percent); Cyprus (89 percent); Montenegro (72 percent); and North Macedonia (65 percent). In other nations, Orthodox communities form smaller yet still influential segments of society, such as in Bosnia and Herzegovina (31 percent); Albania (20 percent); Latvia (13 percent); Estonia (16 percent); Lithuania (4 percent); and Croatia (3.2 percent). However, the 2023 figures in all these countries show a 4- to 10-percent decrease in adherents since the 2017 Pew Research Survey.

What are the unique traditions of Orthodox culture? What do Adventists need to understand about Eastern Orthodoxy in the context of their mission? Can a gathering from multiple countries serve as a platform to develop resources, research, and practical ideas for planting new groups of believers in these territories? These and other related questions were raised at the conference.

Basic Principles

Welcoming the participants to Bulgaria, where 59 percent of the population identify as Orthodox, Milen Georgiev, president of the Bulgarian Union of Churches Conference, shared some first principles for meaningful connection and friendship with Orthodox Christians. He suggested considering others superior to ourselves; applying the truth first in our lives before preaching to others; and lifting up Jesus — not our denomination or ourselves.

Orthodox and Tradition

Eastern Orthodox Christians believe that God reveals Himself not only in Scripture, in Jesus Christ, and in the apostles, but also in the wisdom and “Holy Tradition of the Orthodox Church.” Tradition is seen as the church’s life and the light of the Holy Spirit. “Being the faithful keeper of the Holy Tradition, the Church is the only faithful custodian and interpreter of the Holy Scriptures,”¹ in the Orthodox view.

Latvian Conference president Imants Ģipslis, in his report on how Adventists try and connect with Orthodox Christians in Latvia, highlighted the need to respect both their faith and national identity. In addition, he said, “Don’t expect them to leave their church, but give an invitation to have conversations about their personal experience with God.”

When Orthodox Become Adventists

In his presentation on the global presence of Eastern Orthodoxy, Laurențiu Nistor, a lecturer at Adventus University Cernica, Romania, shared the practical challenges an Orthodox Christian experiences when becoming a Seventh-day Adventist. As one new member said, “I love my newfound faith, digging deeper into the Word through preaching and Bible study. But I continue to go to the cathedral on Sunday to feel “God’s presence” and to be totally showered by the presence of God. I find that in Adventist worship, there is too little music and prayer for the amount that my soul requires.”

In response, Igor Mitrović from Serbia asked, “Is Adventism attractive enough in the aesthetic sense? I raise this because I am concerned that there is no beauty to inspire an Orthodox person in the arena of Adventist worship.”

Cristian Dumitrescu, also from Adventus University Cernica, connected with this challenge by commenting, “Truth is not only seen through the intellectual channel, but through the emotional channel.”

Claudiu Gulyas, president of the Greek Mission, shared his experience of the mission in the context of 90 percent of Greek citizens identifying as Greek Orthodox.

Bojan Topic, pastor of the Niš, Serbia Seventh-day Adventist church, shared his mission experience in the context that most Serbian citizens identify as Orthodox.

Adventism Meets Eastern Orthodoxy

Just in time for the conference, the pre-launch of a 2025 book, Adventism Meets Eastern Orthodoxy: Historical, Theological, and Missiological Bridges, invited the Adventist community to thoughtfully navigate the cultural and theological challenges of engaging with the Eastern Orthodox faith. The twenty contributors, from diverse backgrounds including theology, education, pastoral work, and church planting, are specialists who connect with Orthodox religion and culture.

Co-editors Anthony WagenerSmith and Tihomir Lasić (presenting via videoconference) recognized the book’s launch as “both a reflection on the past and a call to engage with the present and the future, … to reimagine the church’s mission through the transformative lens of God’s work within, through, and around us.” This underscores the need for the church’s mission “in Eastern Orthodox regions and among diaspora groups to have a sensitive and collaborative engagement.”²

While the book’s pre-launch signaled the significant thought being given to Adventism meeting Eastern Orthodoxy, another launch at the conference signaled that this research and conversation are ongoing. In particular, in conjunction with the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission and Andrews University, researchers Petr Cincala and Renee Drumm invited participants to share their experiences of growing up in Orthodox environments as Adventists or as former Orthodox Christians.

Strategic Recommendations

For any conference to have value, there must be an element of “what next.” To explore how Adventists can better understand Orthodox cultures and religious practices while simultaneously living out their unique values and calling to make disciples in preparation for Christ’s soon return, leaders made three core recommendations: (1) develop greater awareness in the church of how the Adventist mission can connect with Orthodox religion and culture; (2) envision pilot projects in the field; and (3) create a global advisory group to guide the first two recommendations — one focused on raising awareness, and the other on implementing practical projects.

WagenerSmith, who is TED mission director, reflected on these strategic recommendations. “I do believe these will generate the right kinds of questions with our church entities and create more momentum after the conference,” he said.

Perhaps the essence of this conference is best captured in the words of Eugene Zaitsev, ESD Research Institute director. “The most important thing that one should pay attention to when communicating with a representative of any of the Orthodox groups is the example of Christian piety that should be shown by every Seventh-day Adventist,” he said. “It is often the authentic Christian life that provides the most powerful preaching and the most convincing argument for biblical truth.… Christ must be reflected in you, in your character, in your words and actions. Only then … will your dialogue with the Orthodox believer be successful and fruitful.”

The original version of this story was posted on the Trans-European Division news site.

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1. A. I. Siderov, quoted in a presentation by Evgene Zaitsev.

2. Anthony WagenerSmith and Tihomir Lasić, eds., Adventism Meets Eastern Orthodoxy: Historic, Theological, and Missiological Bridges (Newbold Academic Press, 2025), forthcoming.