Early Branches in Romania

In the summer of 1899, Mischa Markow faced a major decision. Markow, a multilingual Latter-day Saint missionary with a Serbian father and a Romanian mother, longed to spread the gospel across eastern Europe but had been banished from both Serbia and Hungary due to restrictions on religious freedom. In July of 1899, he met in Istanbul with Ferdinand Hintze, the missionary who had baptized him, counseled about where to go next, and resolved to try preaching in Romania.

Near Constanţa, he baptized Argir Dimitrov, and together they traveled to Bucharest. For nearly six months, they preached with little success until, one December night, Markow had a visionary dream of a family he could teach. “I took some tracts with me,” he later wrote, “and went right away to that family.”

He found an elderly woman and her three daughters—just as he had seen in his dream. The mother, Johanna Hinz, told him she had read a book attacking Brigham Young and the Latter-day Saints. “The first Mormon that comes to my house,” she had sworn, “I will throw him out.” She offered Markow the chance, however, to explain his beliefs from the Bible, and she soon became converted. A small branch quickly formed, holding meetings in the Hinz home at irregular times to avoid attracting attention. Within a few months, however, the secret police began infiltrating meetings and Markow was soon arrested, interrogated, and banished.

After preaching briefly in Sofia, Bulgaria, Markow traveled to Temesvár, Hungary (now Timişoara, Romania). There he found a group seeking additional truth, and over 30 people soon joined the Church. Before he was pressured to leave once again in March 1901, Markow called Franz Kotje and Matthau Sadorf to lead the small branch in his absence. In 1903, Markow again preached in what is now Romania. While traveling to Russia, he stopped in Brassó, Hungary (now Braşov, Romania). He went to the city’s mayor, announced his intentions, and was granted permission to preach for five weeks. During his stay, a woman named Anna Wachsmann became interested in the gospel and later joined the Church. After leaving, Markow reported the warm reception he’d received from Wachsmann and others in Braşov, and other missionaries soon traveled to the city. Though local law forbade unauthorized baptisms, the missionaries began teaching Bible classes.

In October 1903, Helene Bammer (later Bernhardt) began attending the classes with her parents. Two years later, the missionaries began baptizing, and a small branch formed. Even after joining the Church in 1906, however, Helene was required by law to attend Lutheran confirmation classes. During one class, the students were asked to write down a favorite passage from the Bible and share it with the pastor. The pastor was intrigued by Helene’s familiarity with the scriptures and sincerity in prayer and asked where she had learned these things. Helene proudly declared that she was a member of the Church and had learned them from the missionaries.

The pastor was incensed by the revelation. “All of a sudden, his friendliness changed into anger,” Helene wrote. After the meeting, the pastor told others, including the owner of the store where she worked, that she was a member of the Church. The store owner harassed Helene for her beliefs until she finally quit. “That was my worst battle for the sake of my faith,” Helene recalled.

Braşov Branch

Braşov Branch

The struggle against prejudice and external opposition for the Saints in what is now Romania continued. By 1914, only the Braşov Branch remained. “Long and dreary years now began for us all,” Helene later wrote. As the branch’s Relief Society president, she carried the bulk of the responsibility for maintaining the branch over the next two decades. Helene’s 1933 history of the Braşov Branch is the last known record of members in Romania for 60 years.