With the elections of October 30, 2015, the business of the Nominating Committee of the Inter-European Division (EUD) - left unfinished at the 60th session of the General Conference of Seventh Day Adventists, held July 2015 in San Antonio, Texas - was completed.
During the year-end meeting of the Executive Committee of the EUD, which is being held in Bucharest from October 28 until November 3, the Nominating Commission got the opportunity to fill the following missing positions: Secretary Ministerial Association, Family Ministry, Shepherdess, Education Department, Chaplaincy Ministry, Stewardship, Publishing, Spirit of Prophecy, Ethnic Group Coordination, and Geoscience Research Institute.
Pastor Rainer Wanitschek (age 56) has been elected as Ministerial Secretary and Family Ministries Director of the EUD. According to past practices, his wife Elvira has been chosen as coordinator of Shepherdess, a ministry in favour of pastors’ wives. She has a Diploma in Biology and Chemistry. Pastor Wanitschek studied Theology at Marienhöhe Adventist Seminar, holds a Master of Divinity in Theology from Andrews University in Berrien Springs (Michigan, USA) and has also completed studies in Family Counseling. Since then, he and his wife have been able to hold numerous partnership seminars and family weekends. Pastor Wanitschek has been President of the Bavaria Conference for 16 years and is the current President of the South German Union. Elvira and Rainer Wanitschek have four adult sons.
Pastor Marius Monteanu (age 43) will lead the Education Department and the Chaplaincy Ministry. He completed a BA in Theology at Babes-Bolyai University, Cluj-Napoca, Romania and a Master of Art in Leadership at Andrews University. He is currently a PhD Candidate at Babes-Bolyai University. Pastor Monteanu has been Pastor and Chaplain of the AMiCUS Association (Adventist Ministry for College and University Students), as well as the Public Affairs and Religious Liberty Department Director at the Moldavian Conference and the Education Department Director at the Romanian Union. He has been President of the Moldavian Conference and, since 2010, President of the Romanian Adventist Theological Institute, in Cernica. In 2015 he was elected Conference President of the Romanian Union. He is married to Loriana, a Romanian Language and Literature teacher, and they have one daughter.
Pastor Joan Câmpian Tatar (age 57) is currently Director of the Publications Department and Ethnic Groups of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Romania. He has been elected as Stewardship Director. He received a degree in Economy, a BA in Theology at the Babes-Bolyai University, a Master in Management at the Bucharest University, and a Master in Leadership at Andrews University, in Michigan, USA. Pastor Joan Câmpian Tătar initially served as pastor of several churches in the Bacau Region. Since 1992 he has served in leadership positions in the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Romania: first as Treasurer until 2009, and from 2009 to 2015 as General Secretary. Pastor Joan Câmpian Tătar is married to Aurora and together they have a daughter, Lidia, 26 years of age.
Publishing and Book Evangelism has been assigned to Norbert Zens, besides his current position as EUD Treasurer.
The position for the promotion of EG White literature (Spirit of Prophecy Department) is still unfilled. Pastor Barna Magyarosi has been elected as Ethnic Groups Coordinator, besides his current position as EUD Secretary General.
The direction of the EUD branch of the Geoscience Research Institute has been entrusted to Noemi Durán, teacher and Origin Magazine redactor. Noemi Duran studied Biology at Universidad de Valencia, specializing in Zoology and obtained a PhD in Biology at Loma Linda University. She worked as director of education for two zoological facilities, the aquarium L’Oceanografic in Valencia, and the bird park El Parc de les Aus in Barcelona. Furthermore, she made a number of publications on the nature of sea turtles, and presented numerous seminars on creation. Noemi Duran is currently working at the Department 'Earth and Biological Science's at Loma Linda University, California.
