Ghițescu, Nicușor (1919–2003)

Nicușor Ghițescu was a Seventh-day Adventist Romanian pastor, teacher, and author who worked in Romania and the United States.¹

Early Life and Education

Nicușor Ghițescu was born on December 21, 1919, in Craiova in the west of the Wallachian Plain, Southwest Romania. He was the first child of seven children in the family. When he was 16 years old, he became a member of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Later, he attended the theological institute in Brașov.

Ministry

In 1946, after the war, he was called to serve as an assistant pastor in Timișoara and the surrounding churches. Within a short period, he was transferred to the theological seminary in Stupini, near Brașov.² There he worked as a professor until 1949, when the seminary school was seized by the communist regime.

Throughout the years 1949-1951 and up to the beginning of seminary courses in Bucharest, Ghițescu served as pastor in the capital city of Romania. In 1951 he was again employed at the seminary, but in 1964 was transferred to the Bucharest Conference, where he worked as an accountant for inventory services.

Challenge with Church Leadership

The authorities regarded Ghițescu as an “extremist;” in their opinion, he had a negative influence as a pastor on future pastors. However, the real reason was that he had advised students to not collaborate with secret services and to be consistent with the biblical principles held by the SDA Church, especially concerning Sabbath observance.

Ghițescu was among the few pastors who dared to confront the communist authorities by his refusal to send his children to school on Sabbath. According to his public declaration, he was determined not to send his children to school on Sabbath, whatever it may cost him.³

Ghițescu finally left the country as a result of a health problem in 1979 and decided not to return. The Romanian church leadership continued to distance itself from him; Ghițescu settled in the USA and initiated a Romanian congregation, where he served as pastor. ⁴

Later Life and Contribution

Ghițescu was married to Emilia and they lived in the United States until his demise.⁵ He passed away on January 7, 2003, at Loma Linda, San Bernardino County, California, at the age of 83,⁶ after working as a pastor, professor, and author of religious books. Some of his books include: Coroana Vietii; Capcane, Capcane; Maiestatea Universului; Metodologie Misionara; Pregatirea Pentru Furtuna; [ANTICARIAT] Metodologie Misionara.

These books were published after he settled in the U.S.A., where he served as pastor of the Romanian Adventist Church in Chicago.⁷

Sources

“Emilia Ghițescu: o lecţie de viaţă.” Curierul Adventist, December 2015.

“Nicușor Ghițescu.” Ancientfaces. https://www.ancientfaces.com/person/Nicușor-Ghițescu-birth-1919-death-2003/45669168.

“Notices.” ARH, May 20, 1982.

Archives of the National Council for the Study of Security Archives.

Biserica Adventista de Ziua a Saptea Maranatha Timișoara. “Istoric.” https://maranathatm.adventist.ro/istoric.

Dumitrescu, Christian. “Shaking Hands with the (D)evil: Adventism and Communism.” Journal of Adventist Mission Studies, 6.1 (2010).

Modoran,Gheorghe. Biserica prin pustiul rosu. Rezistenta si compromis in adventismul din Romania in perioada comunista (1944-1965) [The Church Through the Red Desert: Resistance and Compromise in Adventism in Romania during the Communist Period (1944-1965)]. Pantelimon: Viata si Sanatate, 2013.

Notes

1. Gheorghe Modoran, Biserica prin pustiul rosu. Rezistenta si compromis in adventismul din Romania in perioada comunista (1944-1965) [The Church Through the Red Desert: Resistance and Compromise in Adventism in Romania during the Communist Period (1944-1965)](Pantelimon: Viata si Sanatate, 2013), 553-556.↩

2. See BisericaAdventista De Ziua A Saptea Maranatha Timișoara, “Istoric,” https://maranathatm.adventist.ro/istoric.↩

3. Arhivele Consiliului National al Studierii Archivelor Securitatii, (ACNSAS) [Archives of the National Council for the Study of Security Archives] fond informativ, dozier (file) number 235256, vol.2, Nota informativă , agent ”Dobrogeanu,” May 8, 1963.↩

4. The Romanian Union president himself told the pastors in a meeting that Ghițescu was a liar, and no one should trust him because he had cheated the members, the conference, the union, and the division. All this was because he did not support the collaboration between the church leadership and the secret police. In a letter to the General Conference, the union president asked them not to employ Ghițescu because he was a traitor. For some years, the General Conference followed the union president’s advice, but in the meantime Ghițescu organized a Romanian group and the local conference finally employed him as a pastor. See Christian Dumitrescu, “Shaking Hands with the (D)evil: Adventism and Communism,” Journal of Adventist Mission Studies, 6.1(2010): 15-32.↩

5. See “Emilia Ghițescu: o lecţie de viaţă,” Curierul Adventist, December 2015, 6.↩

6. See “Nicușor Ghițescu,” Ancientfaces, https://www.ancientfaces.com/person/Nicușor-Ghițescu-birth-1919-death-2003/45669168.↩

7. “Notices,” ARH, May 20, 1982, 22.↩