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The Consistory of the Transylvanian Unitarian Church announces with deep sorrow the decease of itsretired leader,

Rev. Dr. rpd Szab,the 30th bishop of the Transylvanian Unitarian Church, who passed away on 30 September 2010, atthe age of 76, following a year of hard illness endured with dignity and good faith.

During his lifetime he worked to promote the fulfilment of the centuries-old, historic mission of theUnitarian church, and served its needs with devoted enthusiasm, at convenient and inconvenienttimes. Ye are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid! he preached the gospel of

Jesus: the experience of Gods provident love, the responsible vocation of the Christian people, andthe preserving power of a religious community.

He was born in 1935 in an ancient Unitarian village along the valley of the Homord, and he studied in Vrosfalva,Szkelykeresztr and Kolozsvr, where he obtained his ministerial degree between 1953-1957. He started his career in thechurch as a secretary to the bishop between 1958-1965, later as the minister of the downtown Kolozsvr congregation

between 1965-1976. In 1974 he became the professor of Unitarian biblical theology at the Protestant Theological Institute,and in 1977-1978, the scholarship holder of the Meadville Lombard Theological School in Chicago. In 1996 the Synodelected him as the 30th bishop of the church, reinforcing his title in 2002. He retired in 2008, after half of a century ofchurch service.

The first part of his service passed in a period of great tribulations in church history, while the second part fell in times ofopened perspectives. He fulfilled his mission with responsibility and commitment in both periods. As a minister, he calledthe attention of his parishioners upon the providing care of God and His power to preserve the community. As a teacher,he worked for the aim of passing on his knowledge in theological science and the vocation of ministry to the younggenerations. As a bishop, he sought to find orientation among newly appearing opportunities, and urged the spiritual andfinancial strengthening of the church. His attention was also extended on intellectual needs: by his own example, he

encouraged the pursuance of theological sciences and literature, and the editing of church periodicals. The restarting ofthe denominational schools and their development into quality educational institutions, the strengthening of the churchinstitutions, the constructions of new church buildings, and the promotion of international relations are all good evidencefor his devoted, conscious, responsible service.

His funeral service will take place on Monday, the 4th of October 2010, at the Unitarian church of downtown Kolozsvr,from where he will be accompanied to the cemetery of Hzsongrd.

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May his memory be blessed!

Kolozsvr, 30 September 2010. The Consistory of the TransylvanianUnitarian Church