The first document about the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Romania, also known as “Church of Germans in Transylvania” dates back to the 12th century (1191). They adopted the Reformation and became a Lutheran Church in 1550. Under the Transylvanian Reformer Johannes Honterus, the Reformation was enforced first at Brasov and in the Tara Barsei, and shortly thereafter throughout Transylvania, to a certain extent as a political and legal act by the leadership of the Transylvanian Saxons. In 1572, this church obligated its pastors to the Augsburg Confession. As such, it was recognized as an independent church in the principality of Transylvania. Governance was entrusted to a synod of the church, which was headed by a superintendent elected for life and soon referred to as bishop. As in pre-reformation times, the center of church life continued to be in the local congregations. These were self-governing and elected their own pastors. Today the church that has grown out of this Reformation movement is called the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Romania.
The roots of the predominantly Hungarian-speaking Evangelical Lutheran Church in Romania also date back to the time of the Reformation in the 16th century.
