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Warsaw Baptist Theological Seminary has a new Rector

The Polish Baptist Union Executive Board have confirmed the appointment of a British Baptist Minister as the next Rector of the Warsaw Baptist Theological Seminary. Pastor Michael Bochenski received the unanimous support of the WBST Board of Trustees and on Sunday April 10th the Executive confirmed his appointment. Michael is the son of a Polish father and an English mother. He became a Christian in his teenage years and was baptised as a believer in 1970. After obtaining a Masters degree in Social and Political Sciences from Cambridge University he went on to train for the Baptist Ministry at Regent's Park College, University of Oxford obtaining a first in Theology from that University. Speaking of his appointment Prof. Tadeusz Zielinski, Academic Dean of the Seminary, said: "By accepting our invitation to the post of WBST Rector, Rev. Michael Bochenski makes a further and definitive step in his long and fruitful relationship with Polish Baptists. I am convinced that with his coming to the Radosc Seminary our proven friend will strenghten our potential both in the academic and practical aspects of our life here. His pastoral passion and love for education will be instrumental in making us an even more attractive place for Christians of all ages, who want to deepen their faith and their wisdom in Christ. I am sure that Michael’s leadership will also help us to fulfill our vision of being an Institution which serves believers from many different backgrounds, here in our country placed between the East and West of Europe."

The Seminary, based in Radosc a pleasant suburb in South East Warsaw, prepares students for Bachelor Degrees in Theology as well as training Baptist Pastors for ministry across Poland. The Seminary has over 80 students, full and part-time, as well as a Catechetical Institute and an Institute of Jewish Studies. "We owe an enormous debt to Gustaw Cieslar who has been the Rector here for over ten years," said Pastor Bochenski "he has helped to build the Seminary into a significant international Seminary known to Baptists and others all over the world. I am so pleased that he will continue to teach Practical Theology at the Seminary from time to time, even though he has now returned to the local pastorate as he wanted to." Pastor Bochenski, as Rector, will share the leadership of the Seminary with the current Dean (Tadeusz Zielinski) and Administrator (Kristian Ber). "I am so pleased to be working with two experienced Polish Baptists in this way," he said, "as together we seek to lead the Seminary in this next chapter of its development."

Rev. Michael Bochensky with his wife and one of WBST students (Marcin Korowaj)

For 25 years, Michael has served as a Baptist Pastor in churches in Oxford, Blackburn and, since 1992 in St Albans, at Dagnall Street Baptist Church, a large Baptist Church with over 360 years of recorded history. He has served on the Council of the Baptist Union of Great Britain since 1989 and was elected as President of the Baptist Union of Great Britain in 1999-2000. He has travelled widely, preaching and lecturing in churches and seminaries across the UK and in many parts of the world. He has been a regular visitor to Poland over the years teaching, preaching and also lecturing at the WBST in pastoral and mission studies. He and his wife Jane, a Community Nurse, plan to move to Warsaw in time for the new academic year in October. Speaking of his appointment Pastor Bochenski said: "I am grateful for the honour and encouragement of this appointment. It is all so much easier now that Poland is also in the European Union. I hope that more working partnerships between our two nations, like this will now take place. Poland is known the world over as a country where the Christian faith is loved and honoured and Polish Baptists have long been a part of the rich tapestry of Christian life there. I am looking forward enormously to sharing in God's work in this country."

ENDS
This media release has been issued by: Prof. Tadeusz J. Zielinski, WBST Academic Dean

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