The deans of the faculties of orthodox theology in Romania have met yesterday, March 19, 2009, at a conference organized at the Brancoveanu Monastery in Sambata de Sus, Brasov county. The subject of the meeting are the issues which they are currently facing. Several decision were taken concerning the improvement of the academical process.

The meeting in Sambata de Sus was attended by the deans of the 11 faculties of orthodox theology of the Romanian Patriarchate. One of the issues was the promotion of a more rigorous behavior by the theology students. 'We desire to prepare our students both from a theoretical standpoint and that of a moral behavior,' said Rev. Prof. Stefan Buchiu, the dean of the Orthodox Theology Faculty in Bucharest. Another issues which were debated at the meeting were the status of the graduates of the social theology programme and the recommendations of Education Ministry concerning the maximum number of hours which a student can attend weekly.

Most Rev. Laurentiu, the Metropolitan of Transylvania, who was also the coordinator of the discussions in Sambata de Sus, has also pointed out the necessity of the introduction of vocational certificates for theology majors.