The International Evangelical Theological Alliance (IETA) successfully concluded its first full-time in-person General Assembly on 7 November, 2025, in Lviv (Ukraine).

The gathering, held November 3-7 alongside the Mesa Institute, brought together 76 participants (including 17 women) from 40 theological institutions across Eastern Europe and beyond.

The assembly formalized IETA’s transition from interim structures to permanent governance, establishing organisational foundations for long-term sustainability.

The Alliance now consists of 46 member institutions from Ukraine, Poland, Georgia, Moldova, Latvia, Lithuania, Austria, and the United States.

“This gathering represents the resilience of regional theological cooperation,” said Taras Dyatlik, a key organizer of the event. “What emerged from the painful dissolution of previous structures in 2022 has, by God’s grace, become something new and vital for theological education in our region.”

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International participation and research focus

While the majority of participants (56) came from Ukraine, the gathering drew leaders from Moldova, the United States, Latvia, Lithuania, the United Kingdom, Austria, Georgia, and Poland. Of the 76 participants, 28 attended their first Institute and IETA gathering, with 10 joining online.

During those days alongside of the General Assembly meetings, the Mesa Institute for excellence provided training for the participants. It also presented research outcomes from Scholar Leaders’ “Church and Society” project (2023-2025), which has advanced three major theological initiatives emerging from the war context: Theology of Disability, Theology of Citizenship, and Theology of Hospitality.

The project, developed in collaboration with several seminaries, examines how the church has responded to displacement, disability, and questions of civic responsibility in one of Europe’s most significant displacement crises since World War II.

From dissolution to renewal

IETA was born from the dissolution of the Euro-Asian Accreditation Association in May 2022, which became necessary when Russian member seminaries refused to condemn the war in Ukraine upon the request of the majority of seminary leaders from Ukraine and the region.

Over the past three and a half years, IETA has moved from concept to reality, transitioning from an interim Coordination Committee in 2022 to an Interim Board in 2023, and now to a permanent elected board in 2025.

The events were made possible through partnership with Mesa Global, Scholar Leaders, Langham Partnership, Open Eyes, Dnipro Hope Mission, Send International, Keys Connections, READ Ministry, Connect International, and other supporting organizations committed to theological education in the region.

About IETA

The International Evangelical Theological Alliance is a network of 46 theological institutions across Eastern Europe and beyond, committed to advancing theological education, fostering regional cooperation, and preparing the next generation of church leaders.

IETA provides a platform for theological educators, researchers, and ministry leaders to address critical questions facing the church in the region. This is a IETA’s contact email.