Reformed Church in Hungary

The Reformed Church in Hungary (Hungarian:

Reformed Church in Hungary
Magyarországi Református Egyház, MRE) is the
largest Protestant church in Hungary, with parishes
also among the Hungarian diaspora abroad. It is
made up of 1,249 congregations in 27 presbyteries
and four church districts and has a membership of
over 1.6 million, making it the second largest
church in Hungary, behind the Catholic Church.
As a Continental Reformed church, its doctrines Logo of the Reformed Church in Hungary.
and practices reflect a Calvinist theology, for which Classification Protestant
the Hungarian term is református (pronounced
Orientation Continental Reformed
[ˈrɛformaːtuʃ]).
Theology Reformed
The Hungarian Reformed Church became the
Polity Presbyterian
symbol of national Hungarian culture, since it gave
way to the translation of the Bible into the Associations Hungarian Reformed
Hungarian language and contributed to the Communion
education of the population through its school Ecumenical Council of Churches
system.[2] in Hungary
World Communion of Reformed
History Churches
Communion of Protestant
The Reformation spread to Hungary during the
Churches in Europe
16th century. In Geneva, Switzerland, John Calvin
formulated the doctrines of the Reformed Church, Conference of European
and his followers spread the Reformed (Calvinist) Churches
gospel across Europe. World Council of Churches

As a result of the Ottoman conquest of Hungary, Region Hungary, Hungarian diaspora

Hungary was divided into three parts. The Origin 1567
northwest came under Habsburg rule; the eastern
Separated from Roman Catholic Church
part of the kingdom and Transylvania (vassal state)
came under the Ottoman Empire. While the Separations Reformed Presbyterian Church
Ottomans urged conversion to Islam, it was the of Central and Eastern Europe
Reformation which instead spread throughout (1998)
Turkish-occupied Hungarian territories. Only in the
Congregations 1,249[1]
Habsburg-ruled western Hungary was this process
prevented by the counter-Reformation policy Members 2,500,000
encouraged by the Monarchy. Ministers 1,550

A Calvinist Constitutional Synod was held in 1567 Official website http://www.reformatus.hu/english/

in Debrecen, the main hub of Hungarian
Calvinism, where the Second Helvetic Confession was adopted as the official confession of Hungarian
Calvinists.
In 1683-1699, the Ottomams were defeated by a Christian alliance
led by the Habsburgs. After this, the Habsburg Emperors started to
strongly introduce the Counter-Reformation into the liberated
territories. Consequently, for most of the 18th century, Hungarian
Protestants were second-class citizens. Imperial edicts such as the
Resolutio Carolina of 1731, settled the status of Protestant
churches.

Only the end of the 18th century brought some relief to the
Hungarian Reformed Church. Finally, the 1867 establishment of
the Austro-Hungarian Dual Monarchy gave free way for the legal Reformed Great Church of Debrecen
emancipation of Hungarian Protestants. In 1881, for the first time in in Debrecen, Hungary
an almost 400-year-long history, the four Hungarian Reformed
Church Districts together with the Transylvanian Reformed Church
held a unified Synod in the city of Debrecen. The modern
Hungarian Reformed Church was born there at the Debrecen
Synod of 1881. The internal hierarchy and the synodal-presbyterian
system of the Reformed Church remains nearly unchanged from
that time.

After World War I, the Treaty of Trianon in 1920 greatly altered the
Hungarian Reformed Church. It made two two-thirds of the
Hungarian people and a large number of Reformed Synod's and
congregations suddenly within foreign countries. The percentages
of Protestantism in Hungary, however, has been stable over the last
century (1938-2010), oscillating between 10% and 20% of the
population.

Another trial came to the Church with the establishment of the

People's Republic of Hungary after World War II. After the
Hungarian Reformed Church building
confiscation of church lands, schools and institutions, on October 7,
in Manhattan, New York
1948, the General Secretary of the Communist Party, Mátyás
Rákosi, forced the Reformed Church to sign an agreement that
brought all the denomination's work and personnel under the control of the secret police, the ÁVH and the
MIA III, and of the ruling Communist Party of Hungary. The forty years of Communist rule brought both
state atheism and religious persecution to members of all Christian denominations, and only the end of
communism in Hungary brought about relief. Thereafter, a "free church in free state" model has been
adopted.[3]

Theology
The Reformed Church in Hungary accepts the Bible as the word of God. Beyond the early creeds (the
Athanasian Creed, Apostles' Creed, and Nicene Creed), it accepts the Heidelberg Catechism, and the
Second Helvetic Confession.[4][5]

Organization
In order to organize church life on regional and national levels, the RCH has established higher structural
bodies for church legislation and operation: 27 presbyteries, four districts, and the General Synod.
Presbyteries usually contain approximately 30-40 congregations and have mainly administrative roles. Each
Presbytery belongs in one of the four church districts: Cistibiscan, Transtibiscan, Danubian, or
Transdanubian. The ultimate source of church legislation and administration of the Reformed Church in
Hungary is the General Synod.

The RCH (as a member of the worldwide Reformed Church family) is constructed in a representative way
from below, from the congregational level. Members of governing bodies on all levels of the church are
elected by a group of church members, and in all levels above the congregational pastors and lay people are
represented equally.

The church levels function independently providing various kinds of service and using their own budget. A
common church constitution, together with a set of specific rules and regulations, makes it possible for
different units of the church to create their own operational design. However, for certain transactions they
depend on higher church bodies. These general rules allow for freedom and flexibility in the congregations'
operation, but they also protect the integrity of the church.[6]

Hungarian Reformed Church

The Hungarian Reformed Church (HRC) was established by the Constituting Synod on 22 May 2009 in
Debrecen. It is a community of Reformed churches in the Carpathian Basin that incorporates Hungarian
Reformed congregations both within and outside the borders of Hungary because of their separation from
each other as a consequence of World War I. The constitution of the church declares that the HRC is a
community of joined churches with a common synod known as the General Convent, which can pass
legislation and make formal statements concerning issues decided upon by the participating churches.
However, the joined churches are autonomous and independently form their own organizational systems.

The constitution of the Hungarian Reformed Church was ratified by the following churches:

Reformed Church in Hungary

Reformed Church in Romania
Reformed Christian Church in Slovakia
Reformed Church in Transcarpathia
Reformed Christian Church in Serbia
Reformed Christian Church in Croatia
Reformed Church in Slovenia[7]

International ecumenical relations

The RCH is a member of several ecumenical organisations and partner organisations, including:

World Communion of Reformed Churches

Community of Protestant Churches in Europe
Conference of European Churches
Church and Society Commission of CEC
Eurodiaconia
Churches' Commission for Migrant in Europe
World Council of Churches
Partnerhilfe
Gustav Adolf Werk
 HEKS (aid organization of the Protestant churches in Switzerland)[8]

References
1. "World Council of Churches - Reformed Church in Hungary" (https://web.archive.org/web/20
110521144434/http://www.oikoumene.org/en/member-churches/regions/europe/hungary/ref
ormed-church-in-hungary.html). Archived from the original (http://www.oikoumene.org/en/me
mber-churches/regions/europe/hungary/reformed-church-in-hungary.html) on 2011-05-21.
Retrieved 2009-12-18.
2. Schanda, Balász (2015). "Religion and the Secular State in Hungary" (https://classic.iclrs.or
g/content/blurb/files/Hungary.pdf) (PDF). In Thayer, Donlu D. (ed.). Religion and the Secular
State: National Reports. Madrid: Complutense University of Madrid, Faculty of Law. pp. 378–
379. ISBN 9788484811626. Archived (https://web.archive.org/web/20220127200906/https://
classic.iclrs.org/content/blurb/files/Hungary.pdf) (PDF) from the original on 27 January 2022.
3. "Reformatus.hu - History of the RCH" (http://www.reformatus.hu/mutat/6823/).
4. "Reformatus.hu - Our Call" (http://www.reformatus.hu/mutat/6820/).
5. Fasse, Christoph. "Address data base of Reformed churches and institutions" (http://www.ref
ormiert-online.net/adressen/detail.php?id=12216&lg=eng).
6. "Reformatus.hu - Facts and Statistics" (http://www.reformatus.hu/mutat/6819/).
7. "Reformatus.hu - Hungarian Reformed Community" (http://www.reformatus.hu/mutat/6829/).
8. "Reformatus.hu - Partnership and Co-operation" (http://www.reformatus.hu/mutat/6853/).

External links
http://www.reformatus.hu/ Official site (in Hungarian)
http://www.calvinsynod.org Calvin Synod of the UCC
Calvin & Missions - Dr. Michael Haykin Lecture, Reformation to Hungary (http://tinysa.com/s
ermon/126092119167)

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