| Reformed Church in Hungary | |
|---|---|
 Logo of the Reformed Church in Hungary. | |
| Classification | Protestant |
| Orientation | Continental Reformed |
| Theology | Reformed |
| Polity | Presbyterian |
| Associations | |
| Region | Hungary,Hungarian diaspora |
| Headquarters | Reformed Great Church of Debrecen,Debrecen,Hungary |
| Origin | 1567 Kingdom of Hungary |
| Separated from | Roman Catholic Church |
| Separations | Reformed Presbyterian Church of Central and Eastern Europe (1998) |
| Congregations | 1,249[1] |
| Members |
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| Ministers | 1,550 |
| Official website | http://www.reformatus.hu/english/ |
TheReformed Church in Hungary (Hungarian:Magyarországi Református Egyház,MRE,pronounced[ˈmɒɟɒrorsaːgiˈrɛformaːtuʃˈɛɟhaːz]) is the largestProtestant church inHungary, with parishes also among theHungarian 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 Christian church inHungary after theCatholic Church. As aContinental Reformed church, its doctrines and practices reflect aCalvinisttheology, for which the Hungarian term isreformátus (pronounced[ˈrɛformaːtuʃ]).
The Hungarian Reformed Church became the symbol of nationalHungarian culture, since it led to thetranslation of the Bible into the Hungarian language by Hussite pastors, and contributed to the education of the population through its school system.[2]
TheReformation spread toHungary during the 16th century. InGeneva,Switzerland, theFrench reformerJohn Calvin formulated the doctrines of theReformed Church, and his followers spread the Reformed (Calvinist) gospel acrossEurope.
As a result ofthe Ottoman conquest of Hungary, Hungary was divided into three parts. The northwest came underHabsburg rule; the eastern part of the kingdom andTransylvania (vassal state) came under theOttoman Empire. While theOttomans 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 theCounter-Reformation policy encouraged by the Monarchy.
A Calvinist Constitutional Synod was held in 1567 inDebrecen, the main hub of Hungarian Calvinism, where theSecond Helvetic Confession was adopted as the official confession of Hungarian Calvinists.
In 1683-1699,the Ottomans were defeated bya Christian alliance led by theHabsburgs. After this, the Habsburg Emperors started to strongly introduce theCounter-Reformation into the liberated territories. Consequently, for most of the 18th century, Hungarian Protestants were second-class citizens. Imperial edicts, such as theResolutio 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-HungarianDual 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.
AfterWorld War I, theTreaty of Trianon in 1920 greatly altered the Hungarian Reformed Church. It made two two-thirds of theHungarian people and a large number of Reformed Synod's and congregations suddenly within foreign countries. The percentages ofProtestantism 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 thePeople's Republic of Hungary afterWorld War II. After the confiscation of church lands, schools and institutions, on October 7, 1948, theGeneral 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 thesecret police, theÁVH and theMIA III, and of the rulingCommunist Party of Hungary. The forty years of Communist rule brought bothstate atheism andreligious persecution to members of all Christian denominations, and only theend of communism in Hungary brought about relief. Thereafter, a "free church in free state" model has been adopted.[3]
The Reformed Church in Hungary accepts the Bible as the word of God. Beyond the early creeds (theAthanasian Creed,Apostles' Creed, andNicene Creed), it accepts theHeidelberg Catechism, and theSecond Helvetic Confession.[4][5]
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]
TheHungarian Reformed Church (HRC) was established by the Constituting Synod on 22 May 2009 inDebrecen. It is a community of Reformed churches in theCarpathian 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, such as:
The RCH is a member of several ecumenical organisations and partner organisations, including:
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