Evangelical Theological Seminary

Since the fall of communism in the late 1980s and early 1990s, political, social, and spiritual unrest has been a major problem for Eastern Europe. Wars in the former Yugoslavia left millions devastated and searching for meaning. As an agent for spiritual light and healing in the face of these problems, the Evangelical Theological Seminary (ETS) in Osijek, Croatia has been a key institution for training pastors and church workers to serve in the Balkans and more broadly in Eastern Europe.

Dr. Peter Kuzmic, a highly respected scholar and tireless worker for peace, reconciliation, and the spread of the Gospel, headed the school for much of its existence. The school selected Dr. Dalibor Kraljik as its new Dean in September 2023. The National Presbyterian Church has had a warm relationship with ETS, its US affiliate New Europe Vision, and Dr. Kuzmic since 1997 and is delighted to be able to continue the relationship with the school and Dalibor Kraljik.

ETS, founded in 1972, is an evangelical and interdenominational educational institution dedicated to training Christian pastors and lay workers. Like most seminaries in Europe, ETS provides undergraduate training to pastors, though it also has a graduate program in Theological Studies. The school from the 1990s through the first decade of the 2000s normally served up 80-120 full-time students, plus scores of part-time students. With a library of approximately 100,000 theological books (very unusual for a Protestant seminary in E. Europe), ETS remains a key evangelical school for both Eastern Europe.

From 2010-2016, the school served a smaller number of full-time students but continued its work with part-time students and with distance learning activities. It also continued to draw students from around Eastern Europe and from Africa. The school developed summer programs to provide training and fellowship for pastors in the region, a program to help visiting doctoral students do research at the school’s library, and training programs in missiology and counseling psychology.

Having received its re-accreditation from the Croatian government in 2018, the school is rebuilding its undergraduate and graduate populations. It currently has about 25 undergraduate and 12 graduate students (along with 8 as lifelong learners). Of these 37 students, 12 attend in person and the remainder remotely. These distance-learning students come to campus three times per semester for one-week intensive learning periods. Over the remainder of the decade, ETS plans to expand to 50-60 full-time and part-time students.

ETS students have been very active in the region after their training in Osijek. According to school officials, ETS students have planted more than 80% of the current evangelical churches in Bosnia and Herzegovina. They started two Bible schools, one in Mostar and other in Sarajevo; began a publishing house in Zenica; and they have helped with a new Bible into Bosnian. ETS graduates also run national youth and children camps at Boracko Lake (near Konjic, Bosnia), a Teen Challenge program for former drug-addicts in Breza, and a national evangelical ministry for women.

From 2013-2017, ETS received one of NPC’s Shaw Grants. The school used some of the funds to renovate on of the school’s residential buildings to make it more energy efficient. The school used most of the funds from the grant for scholarships and to improve the school’s distance learning program.

In 2023, ETS welcomed Dalibor Kraljik as the next Dean of the school, replacing long-serving Dr. Peter Kuzmič. A graduate and former lecturer, assistant dean, and staff member at ETS, Dalibor has his PhD in Theology (Dogmatics) from the Faculty of Theology in Ljubljana, Slovenia (2016). Afterwards he served as an Expert Adviser to the Croatian Government’s Ministry of Finance and as Head of the Department for Civil Society Development. ETS and NPC welcome Dalibor to this new role! Dalibor is joined by his wife Judita, a music teacher and a current graduate student at ETS, who will begin teaching Christian music at ETS. The couple are both from the nearby Slavonian town of Našice, so their arrival to serve in Osijek is a homecoming of sorts!

Dr. Dalibor Kraljik

Recent ETS Graduates

ETS new Learning Center for Mission.  It houses the library, classrooms, and a recording studio for the seminary's radio ministries.

Pray for: Wisdom and perseverance for the seminary students Insight and energy for the Board of Directors to develop the vision and strategy for the school Insight and energy for the new Dean Dalibor Kraljik Good relationships with churches in the region, which are able to encourage students to attend ETS Availability of faculty members to teach at ETS and to help with student outreach activities in Croatia and the region Open doors for the seminary students to witness about Jesus and to start churches in areas of the former Yugoslavia A desire for reconciliation among the ethnic groups to which ETS student workers minister		Students make regular use of the ETS library. Please contact the Europe Working group if you would like to donate seminary books to the library.
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