Reformed Church in Hungary

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
(Redirected from
Hungarian Reformed
)
This article is about the contemporary church within the borders of Hungary. For the communion of Reformed churches with Hungarian heritage, see Hungarian Reformed Communion.
Reformed Church in Hungary
Reformed
PolityPresbyterian
Associations
Region
Roman Catholic Church
SeparationsReformed Presbyterian Church of Central and Eastern Europe (1998)
Congregations1,249[1]
Members
  • 1,600,000 (Hungary)
  • 2,500,000 (Total)
Ministers1,550
Official websitehttp://www.reformatus.hu/english/
Reformed Great Church of Debrecen in Debrecen, Hungary
Hungarian Reformed Church building in Manhattan, New York

The Reformed Church in Hungary (

Calvinist theology, for which the Hungarian term is református (pronounced [ˈrɛformaːtuʃ]
).

The Hungarian Reformed Church became the symbol of national

Hungarian culture, since it gave way to the translation of the Bible into the Hungarian language and contributed to the education of the population through its school system.[2]

History

The

Reformed Church
, and his followers spread the Reformed (Calvinist) gospel across Europe.

As a result of

Habsburg rule; the eastern part of the kingdom and Transylvania (vassal state) came under the Ottoman Empire. While the Ottomans urged conversion to Islam, it was the Reformation which instead spread throughout Turkish-occupied Hungarian territories. Only in the Habsburg-ruled western Hungary was this process prevented by the Counter-Reformation
policy encouraged by the Monarchy.

A Calvinist Constitutional Synod was held in 1567 in

Second Helvetic Confession
was adopted as the official confession of Hungarian Calvinists.

In 1683-1699,

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 emancipation of Hungarian Protestants. In 1881, for the first time in 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

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

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

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

Main article: Hungarian Reformed Communion

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:

International ecumenical relations

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

References

  1. ^ "World Council of Churches - Reformed Church in Hungary". Archived from the original on 2011-05-21. Retrieved 2009-12-18.
  2. ISBN 9788484811626. Archived
    (PDF) from the original on 27 January 2022.
  3. ^ "Reformatus.hu - History of the RCH".
  4. ^ "Reformatus.hu - Our Call".
  5. ^ Fasse, Christoph. "Address data base of Reformed churches and institutions".
  6. ^ "Reformatus.hu - Facts and Statistics".
  7. ^ "Reformatus.hu - Hungarian Reformed Community".
  8. ^ "Reformatus.hu - Partnership and Co-operation".

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Reformed_Church_in_Hungary&oldid=1212335315"