The Protestant Theological Institute of Cluj-Napoca said once again this year: "Let us open our gates and allow those interested to find us!" And the gates opened wide on March 6th, with 90 high school students and 18 accompanying teachers wanting to gain insight for a day into the world of theology students.

At the beginning of the day, we asked participants what expectations they had when coming to us. There were several who came consciously because they are planning to enroll here after high school and wanted to gain insight into the everyday life of theology students. There were also those who were uncertain about their further studies and expected today to tip the balance in some way, or to receive some impulse about what to do later, but who would also consider theology as an option.

In addition to the majority of Reformed and Unitarian interested students, curiosity also drove those of other denominations to see what life is like with us. Thus, we also spoke with Catholic and Baptist young people who said they came because they wanted to see our world as well and found this opportunity interesting, which is why they decided to come for this day.

Different motivations and different intentions guided those present. However, two things uniformly characterised the participants' presence: openness and the desire to receive even more. Several participants emphasized that they wanted more from today. And by "more", they didn't mean the quantity of programs or the stimuli they received, but rather the length of the programs. A recurring phrase from the young people was that they wished the given programs had lasted even longer, which also shows how curious and hungry for information those who came for this day were.

The day began with a devotional by Anna Moroianu, a third-year theology student, whose base text was Genesis 2:15, and she spoke to the students about how God gave work to humans already in the Garden of Eden, which only became burdensome after the fall, and encouraged the young people to hear God's word, who shows everyone that piece of Eden where they will need to work later on.

This was followed by a forum discussion with Bishop Bogdán Szabolcs János, who, in response to the young people's questions, spoke about pastoral ministry, about what qualities a young person needs to be able to carry out pastoral service. The bishop emphasized calling and devotion instead of outstanding abilities. While a pastor needs to understand many things, the most important thing is to have the foundation in their lives, which is nothing other than a living and daily faith relationship with God.

Participants could choose two out of four lectures, and in addition to the TH-tour (a tour in the campus), they participated in these alternative classes. Within the framework of the TH-tour, some members of the theology community accompanied the participants through various points of the Institute, thus visiting the library, the ceremonial hall, the black and white holes (the Institute's spontaneous meeting places), and many other points that form an integral part of theology students' lives.

Based on conversations, they told us that they liked being able to decide this year which classes to attend, so everyone could choose among the lectures according to their interests.

Dr. Levente Horváth held a class for the young people titled "How can faith effectively develop my intellectual, emotional, and relational intelligence?" in which he demonstrated the connection between the three types of intelligence through several fascinating examples and stories. Participants listened attentively throughout, and several noted how much the professor's examples helped them deepen their understanding.

Dr. Éva Éles wanted to show the young people why Jesus spoke in parables, so she held her alternative class titled "From the Set Table to the Pig Trough. Why Did Jesus Speak in Parables?" on the parable of the prodigal son.

Dr. Csaba Tódor in his lecture titled "Spirituality and Education" showed the young people how our training is structured and how scientific and spiritual matters are connected.

Dr. Sándor Előd Ősz and Dr. István Tasnádi held an interactive church history class in the archives, where they wanted to show the young people the exciting and tangible side of church history.

The young people gained insight into every aspect of our training, and everyone could find the classes that were closest to them. Speaking with the young people, we saw that the alternative classes not only helped them get a better look at what a class might be like in the everyday life of theology, but they could also learn and be edified from them.

The participants could close the day with more informal conversations with theology students, where they could ask questions that arose during the day. Thus, the conversations covered topics such as admissions, what the training is like. But in addition to the academic part, participants also heard about what opportunities a theology student has, and the question also arose: "What does a theology student do when they're not studying?"

On the Reformed-Evangelical faculty, the day concluded with this program point. We give thanks to God for all the participants who saw theology's open gates this year and who also had the openness to gain insight into the different yet similar life of theology students.

Virág Berekméri and Vivien Újlaki
4th-year theology students