Theology of Presence and the Importance of Solidarity

Rev. Dr. Haroutune Selimian, President of the Armenian Protestant Community in Syria, visited Hungary on 4–5 December, meeting with representatives of the Reformed Church in Hungary (RCH), the Hungarian Reformed Church Aid (HRCA), members of the Armenian community in Budapest, and regional partners from the Királyhágómellék Church District (Romania). The visit continued a long-standing partnership grounded in mutual solidarity, shared testimony, and a commitment to faithfully serving communities facing social and economic uncertainties, and to persevering in shared witness through difficult times.

15/12/2025

címkék: #haroutselimian, #syria, #middleeast, #armenianevangelicalbethelchurch, #scottishmission

Faith, resilience, and solidarity in times of crisis

On the occasion of the visit of Rev. Dr. Haroutune Selimian, President of the Armenian Protestant Community in Syria, the Ecumenical Office of the Reformed Church in Hungary and St. Columba’s Church of Scotland invite all brothers, sisters, and friends to an evening of fellowship on 4 December, between 6:00 and 7:30 pm.

19/11/2025

The Last String Still Plays

Being a pastor in the Middle East is in itself a courageous decision — doing so as a woman requires extraordinary faith and perseverance. Najla Kassab, the first female president of the World Communion of Reformed Churches, has spent decades serving in a region scarred by war, persecution, and mass migration. Her story is one of calling, faith, and the power of communities to endure.

15/10/2025

címkék: interview, Middle East, wcrc, syria, lebanon, najla kassab

Let Us Pray for Christians in the Middle East and for Peace

“We call upon our Reformed Christian brothers and sisters in Hungary to join us in steadfast prayer for our Christian brothers and sisters in the Middle East and the Holy Land. Together, let us ask our Almighty God to bring comfort to those who mourn and suffer,” reads the statement of the Presidency of the Synod of the Reformed Church in Hungary on the second anniversary of the terrorist attack against Israel on October 7, 2023.

07/10/2025

címkék: Reformed Church in Hungary, prayer, Middle East, christianity

We always ran to God

What do we know about Syria? We might recall the great, ancient empires or Paul’s journey to Damascus, but also the constant state of war, brutal massacres, or church destructions. In this country, often referred to as the birthplace of Christianity, the community of Christian believers hold on – deeply wounded by spiritual and physical losses, yet still standing. But does hope in God endures even when there is nothing more to lose? In our article, we catch a glimpse of the Syrian Christians’ life through the portrait of Pamela Shammas.

07/10/2025

címkék: interview, Middle East, syria, faith, christianity

Hear My Voice

What can we do when we are overwhelmed by self-pity and anger in a vulnerable situation? This was a central question at a conference organized for Christian women from war-torn countries who gathered in Lebanon to encourage each other. Conversation with Tímea Tövissi, a woman minister from Trancarpathia, Ukraine.

22/07/2025

címkék: war, women's conference, world communion of reformed churches (wcrc), najla kassab, reformed church in transcarpathia

RCH’s donation reached the community in Congo

In a worship service, the Christian congregation in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, whose seventy members were abducted and murdered for their faith in February, thanked the Reformed Church in Hungary and the Hungary Helps Agency for their joint support.

08/05/2025

címkék: hungary helps, congo

Congolese Christian delegation thanks the RCH for its support

"For us in Hungary today, martyrdom, the witness that we can lay down our lives for the cause of Jesus Christ in a given situation, is unknown, and that is why we have great respect for those Christians who remain believers in Christ even in the most difficult circumstances," said Bishop József Steinbach, Ministerial President of the Synod, on Wednesday, 9 April, at the Ráday House in Budapest, where the Presidium of the Reformed Church in Hungary met with a delegation of Congolese Christians helped by the Church and the "Planetrise" (Földkelte) Association for Culture and Environmental Protection.

10/04/2025

címkék: congo, persecuted christians

RCH and Hungary Helps Provide Aid to the Victims in Congo

Seventy Christians were beheaded in a Protestant church in the north-eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. In response to the tragedy, the Hungary Helps Agency and the RCH have joined forces to provide financial assistance to the victims' families.

04/03/2025

címkék: congo, persecuted christians

HEKS Church Cooperation Consultation in Budapest

From November 25th to the 27th, HEKS/EPER hosted a Church Cooperation Consultation in Budapest in cooperation with the Reformed Church in Hungary (RCH). The consultation brought together various church partners from ten countries to discuss the variety and nuance of church missions across diverse contexts.

09/12/2024

címkék: HEKS, church cooperation

Let Us Dare to Be Merciful in This Unmerciful World!

Church leaders in Hungary prayed for persecuted Christians in a joint service at the opening of the Ecumenical Week of Prayer in St Stephen's Basilica. At the event, Reformed Bishop József Steinbach stressed that Christ himself became the Good Samaritan, and on the cross, he "went to the very end for us" to show his boundless love.

22/01/2024

címkék: ecumenical council of churches in hungary (ecch), week of prayer

Perseverance Nurtured by Hope

Lieutenant Colonel Szilárd Sajtos, a Reformed military chaplain, has visited the Middle East several times as a member of various military missions. In a recently published study on Eastern Christianity, he explained that the survival of the church in the region has been in serious danger due to massive emigration.

29/12/2023

címkék: military chaplaincy, Iraq, Middle East

Standing Together in Faith

On September 2nd, the Reformed community in Hungary supported two gatherings to bring awareness and affirm its support for the Christian community facing persecution in Pakistan. A gathering hosted by the Érdliget Reformed Parish included powerful testimonies, and another, a prayer group hosted at the community center for the Refugee Ministry, honored the victims of the persecution.

13/09/2023

címkék: prayer, persecuted christians

Reformed Church of Transcarpathia Collects for Syrian Sister Churches

On February 6th, 2023, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck regions of southern Turkey and northern Syria. In response to the crisis in Syria, the Reformed Church of Transcarpathia (RCT) raised a tremendous aid package of 30,000 Euros to support the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon (NESSL) in its efforts to respond to this crisis.

15/05/2023

címkék: syria, reformed church in transcarpathia, Middle East

Partners' Consultation of the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon

RCH Delegation attends Partners' Consultation hosted by National Evangelical Syond of Syria and Lebanon

06/06/2023

címkék: partnership, Middle East, national evangelical synod of syria and lebanon (nessl)

The Delegation of the Ecumenical Council Visits Palestine

The Ecumenical Council of Churches in Hungary (ECCH) delegation visited the Holy Land on May 15-18 at the invitation of the Higher Presidential Committee of Churches Affairs in Palestine.

20/05/2023

címkék: ECCH, ecumenical relations, Middle East

Delegation of RCH Visited Syria

His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II held a reception in honor of Bishop Zoltán Balog, Ministerial President of the Synod of RCH during a visit of the Hungarian delegation in Syria, led by the Bishop.

13/01/2022

címkék: syria

Church Aid Campaign for Pakistan

The Hungarian Reformed Church Aid (HRCA) launched a donation campaign last year to support the humanitarian program offering help to Afghan refugees in the country. Thanks to the donations, RCH was able to offer 14 000 USD to the Presbyterian community in Pakistan.

09/01/2022

Károli Christian Scholarship

Károli Gáspár University of the RCH founded a scholarship scheme to provide study opportunities for young Christian students who are living in minority in selected countries in the Middle-East, Asia and Africa. The University offers 5 full scholarship a year. Deadline for applications is 30th April.

02/12/2021

címkék: Karoli Gáspár Reformed University, scholarship

Recognizing the Sign of the Rainbow

At the invitation of Bishop Zoltán Balog, ministerial president of the Synod, a delegation from Lebanon and Syria visited RCH, among them Rev. Najla Kassab, President of the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC).

29/11/2021

címkék: national evangelical synod in lebanon and syria (nessl), world communion of reformed churches (wcrc), syria, armenian evangelical community in syria, union of armenian evangelical churches in the near east (uaecne)