Fan Into Flame is a tribute to the role that established religion played in the 1989 Romanian revolution that brought down the communist dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu.  It is, for me, a reminder of four days in September 2008 walking the streets of Timisoara camera in hand.  In some ways, it felt as if I were walking on to a WWII movie set.  The buildings and cafes so European, so mid century.  Evidence of a flourishing spiritual heritage was everywhere; visible by the many churches, cathedrals, and synagogues.  The look of things religious was not modern, but it was substantial.

     After WWII Romania became a part of the Soviet Bloc and was ruled by a single communist party.  Romania’s resources were ravaged by Russia, and thousands of Romanians died in prison.  Nicolae Ceausescu became head of the Communist party in 1965 and later President of Romania in 1974.  Under his rule, harsh economic policies and political repression led to the December 1989 revolution by the people of Romania.  As world media broadcast the citizen revolt and overthrow of the Communist leadership, Ceausescu and his wife were captured, tried and executed.

     It was the courageous Timisoara Reformed Church pastor Lazlo Tokes who would “fan into flame” the smoldering revolution against the Communist leadership.  Tokes had publically spoken out against Romania policies of religious discrimination, government manipulation of church leadership, and state plans to destroy historic churches and neighborhoods.  Tokes was ordered to leave his church in Timisoara and move to a remote village.  He refused to leave, and members of his parish protested and interfered with authorities trying to oust Tokes who had moved his family into the Reformed Church building.  Masked assailants attacked the church and stabbed Tokes in front of his pregnant wife.  Still Tokes would not leave.

     Believers from Orthodox, Catholic, Reformed, and Baptist churches rallied to defend Tokes by surrounding his church in an attempt to thwart aggressive efforts by the police.  On December 17, the crowds surrounding the Reformed Church had grown to thousands and spilled over into the public square.  Anti-communist chants broke out, and protestors attempted to burn down the Communist Party building.  The military was called in to control the riots and opened fire on the crowds with machine guns leaving dozens wounded and dead.

     The events in Timisoara enraged and emboldened citizens throughout Romania to join the revolt, leading to the capture, trial and execution of Ceausescu and his wife on December 25 in Bucharest the Romanian capital.

     The people of Timisoara in September 2008 seemed hopefully optimistic.  Jubilant wedding parties paraded from the cathedral to the city center. Thousands willingly attended services at the Orthodox church.  Renaissance musical troupes performed to a charmed audience in the Catholic cathedral.  And then the global economy collapsed in October.