The child is coming. Advent is the time in the church to wait and prepare for the arrival of Immanuel, God with us. For the Reformed Church in Hungary, it is a time to spread the story of His birth – no small task, to be certain.
The Church looks forward to a continuation of the RCH's aim to live as Ambassadors for Christ. It also devotes itself to the planning of many events, including the 450th celebration of the Heidelberg Catechism and 40th anniversary of the Leuenberg Agreement.
Presiding Bishop Gusztáv Bölcskei shares his thoughts on where we can find our hope in a Christmas season that is defined each year by bigger, more spectacular and more glamorous, a phenomena that stands in stark contrast to Jesus’ humble beginning.
A reflection on the life and legacy of Jane Haining, a missionary from the Church of Scotland in Budapest during WW II. Haining dedicated her life to the service of Jewish and Christian alike. She was taken to and later executed in Auschwitz.
In Hungary, Roma communities have been an inseparable part of society for centuries and in the life of churches, service among Roma has always primarily meant spreading the Gospel. Interview with Attila Landauer, national coordinator of Roma ministry of the RCH.
On Friday evening a protest demonstration was held in Debrecen, where representatives of historical churches, the local government, political parties and civil organisations gathered together to let their voices be heard against racism and hatred.
Born 100 years ago, Soos was an integral member of the Hungarian resistance during World War II. The Reformed Church in Hungary celebrates his life, bravery and service during 2013, which is known as the Wallenberg year in Hungary.
According to the new church law issued by the Hungarian Government in 2011, only 14 out of 352 religious communities and groups were acknowledged as official churches in Hungary.
The Synod of the RCH convened for its fall session to discuss, aside from business matters, the vision of the church as it faces an unprecedented time of social change and economic unrest. The RCH invited 11 international delegates from partner churches.
Several important topics were discussed throughout the Synod meeting in mid-November, including a new translation of the Heidelberg Catechism, Starpoint Youth Festival, report of the Confirmation Committee and the Guiding Principles for 2013.
The hospital ministry in Hungary celebrated its 20th anniversary on 24 October, at the Bethesda Children's Hospital. The Hungarian hospital ministry operates in 28 institutions. The participants evaluated the past years of their service and discussed future possibilities.
The Presidium of the General Convent, operational body of the Hungarian Reformed church leaders in the Carpathian Basin met on Tuesday to discuss the most relevant upcoming events of the church.
Amy Lester is the first Global Mission Intern to work with the RCH. For the next year Amy and the RCH will share in a unique time of fellowship and service as the fruit of a continuously strengthening partnership with Global Ministries. Read her introduction.
“The things that could renew the Church are not new at all.”, said András Harmathy, president of the Church Revision Committee, as he shared some of his thoughts about the mission of the committee in the context of the approaching General Synod session.
In 2013, we celebrate the 450th anniversary of our confession: the Heidelberg Catechism. Published in 1563, adopted in 1567 at the Synod of Debrecen, this document is a true heritage of our Church, something not only to be meditated upon, but to rediscover.
„It is simpler to poison a community with vain arguments, belligerence and suspicious approach, than to recuperate, rebuild and restore it later." – Árpád Galsi, director of Kálvin Publishing House within the Reformed Church in Hungary, on reformation.
We are in a process of revision. For the coordination of the process the Church Revision Committee was installed by the Synod in 2012, commissioned both to develop an ecclesiological basis for the future church life and for the expected reconfiguration.
An important time in the life of the church is drawing near! The biannual meeting of the General Synod will be held on 14-17 November. For the first time in the history of our church, delegates from partner churches around the world have been invited.
In the past 163 years Hungarians have annually remembered the heroes of the revolution, who were murdered on 6 October 1849, bearing in mind that several other innocent victims, and among them, Reformed witnesses of faith were sentenced to death or imprisonment.
In October, 2010 the Church of Scotland and the Reformed Church in Hungary joined an agreement in order to launch the Hungarian equivalent of the Eco-Congregation Programme, which is already running successfully in Scotland.