Timișoara, August 18 – 20, 2023 – After a three-year pandemic pause, one of the largest convention organizers in the world has once again chosen Timișoara to host its global three-day event, the 2023 “Exercise Patience”! Convention.

Participants from more than 26 countries are expected to attend, including those that live in Romania but originate from another country, such as Australia, France, Haiti, Hungary, Japan, Myanmar, Nepal, Poland, Sao Tome, Sri Lanka, The Philippines, United States of America, Ukraine. The desire to learn from the Bible motivates all these people from different cultures to attend the Convention.

Even though the Witnesses speak different languages and originate from different countries and cultures they are united through love, which makes this event unique for a multicultural city. The Witnesses’ Regional Conventions showed that people from different cultures can form true and lasting friendships when they share the worship of God.

Prior to 2019, summers in Timișoara were marked by Jehovah’s Witnesses filling hotels and restaurants as they attended their annual conventions. In 2020, the pandemic interrupted that tradition when Witnesses canceled their in-person events throughout the world and held their convention programs as virtual events in more than 500 languages. Beginning August 18, 2023, the Witnesses will bring that tradition back to Timișoara, at the Iulius Congress Hall, 1 Aristide Demetriade Street.

Some 6,000 conventions will be held worldwide as part of the 2023 “Exercise Patience”! Convention series. In Romania alone, 36 conventions will be held in 15 host cities. From Friday through Sunday, six convention sessions will explore the quality of patience, highlighting its modern-day relevance through Scriptural examples. A live baptism will be performed following the Saturday morning session and a prerecorded video-drama will be featured in two parts during the Saturday and Sunday afternoon sessions.

“Patience is a beautiful quality that all Christians desire to display in their daily lives,” says Mr. Ionuț Moraru, spokesman for the Jehovah’s Witnesses. “Despite our good intentions, however, maintaining patience in the face of life’s many challenges can be a daily struggle. Spending three days exploring aspects of this quality will be very timely for all of us.”

Jehovah’s Witnesses have been holding public conventions in stadiums, arenas, convention centers, and theaters around the world for more than 100 years. After resuming smaller in-person meetings and their public ministry during 2022, the summer of 2023 marks the first time they will gather at much larger regional events around the world since the lifting of pandemic restrictions.

The convention is open to the public and no collection is taken. For more information on the program or to find other convention locations and dates, please go to jw.org and navigate to the “About Us” tab.

For more information, contact the Public Information Department of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Romania at +4 0770 315 146 or birouldeinformatiipublice.ro@jw.org.