East in West: Kirchentag 2013

Catch up on the RCH's participation in the German Protestant Kirchentag 2013 in Hamburg! Read about the festival events and the team's activities throughout the week right here through pictures and daily blog posts.

01/05/2013

címkék: ecumenical, hamburg, 2013, kirchentag, blog

Summary of the April Synod Session

The spring meeting of the Synod, the highest decision-making body of the Reformed Church in Hungary, opened with a devotion by Dean István Csegei and the 12th session of the 13th Synod cycle was officially called to session by RCH Lay President Pál Huszár.

26/04/2013

címkék: church revision, 2013, hungarian reformed church (hrc), Synod

The RCH to Participate in Kirchentag 2013

Next week the Reformed Church in Hungary will take part in a celebration of faith at the 34th German Protestant Kirchentag in Hamburg. The festival, scheduled for 1-5 May, is a forum for participation and lively debates with more than 100,000 people expected to attend.

25/04/2013

címkék: kirchentag, hamburg, 2013

Celebrating 450 Years with the Heidelberg Catechism

It was 450 years ago that the Heidelberg Catechism was first published. From 1653 onward this booklet saw rapid growth, and in 2013 it is still being used by millions of people belonging to the Reformed tradition, and has become the most important confessional text of the RCH.

23/04/2013

címkék: hungarian reformed church (hrc), anniversary, heidelberg cathechism

Touch: The Dialogue Powering Revision

The Church Revision Committee was created to examine the lives of congregations and through dialogue determine a national strategy. After its approval, the Revision Committee set about examining the best way to create meaningful discussion among the RCH congregations.

19/04/2013

címkék: church revision, Synod

Staggering Census Numbers Released

Data from the 2011 Hungarian census has just been released, including some eye-opening statistics for the church. According to the report, the number of people claiming a Reformed affiliation in Hungary has decreased to 1.15 million.

17/04/2013

címkék: 2011, census

“This chaos is yelling all around us…”

The presidium of the Reformed Church in Hungary released a statement on 10 April after the national meeting of deans and elders condemning both recent cemetery vandalism and the statement of Rev. Loránt Hegedűs Jr. calling for an anti-Zionist rally in Budapest.

15/04/2013

címkék: presidium, Synod, loránt hegedűs, statement

Task: Community and Unity in Délvidék

Béla Halász, the new bishop of the Reformed Christian Church in Serbia, spoke about the importance of community and the reconstruction of unity in his installation sermon on 13 April. The service, framed as a ceremonial worship, was held in the Reformed church in Hertelendyfalva.

15/04/2013

címkék: inauguration, béla halász, Serbia, bishop, reformed christian church in serbia

WCC General Secretary Visits Hungary

The Ecumenical Council of Churches in Hungary welcomed the General Secretary of the World Council of Churches, Rev. Dr. Olav Tveit, to Budapest this week where he met with several church and political leaders, including Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.

12/04/2013

címkék: olav fyske tveit, ecumenical council of churches in hungary (ecch), world council of churches (wcc), tveit

Prayers for an End to Tensions on the Korean Peninsula

In light of the increased tensions on the Korean peninsula, the RCH congregation from the Great Church in Debrecen has communicated a statement of support for all of those struggling with the present uncertainty between North and South Korea.

11/04/2013

címkék: Korea, statement, presbyterian church in the republic of korea (prok)

A Step Toward Reconciliation

It is fitting that the RCH's Roma Council is meeting to debate its Roma Concept today, 8 April, because it coincides with the International Roma Day. It is a day to celebrate Roma culture but also draw attention to continued discrimination that the Roma community faces.

08/04/2013

címkék: roma ministry, roma council, concept

Let the Countdown to Starpoint Begin!

The venue is set, theme chosen, bands lined up and speakers scheduled. Starpoint is coming! It's hard to imagine that this year's festival in Mezőtúr is only 109 days away, but rest easy, the team has been working around the clock to ensure that this Starpoint will be the best one yet!

04/04/2013

címkék: starpoint, youth, festival

Easter Traditions in Hungary

The Lenten season is a time of great importance for Christians around the world. For the Reformed Church in Hungary the solemnness of Holy Week and celebration of Easter is reflected in the community's traditions.

28/03/2013

címkék: easter

Easter Devotion - Time out of Time

He is risen! Celebrate the resurrection of our Lord with the following Easter devotion from Rev. Dr. Frank Hegedűs of Saint Margaret's Anglican Episcopal Church in Budapest.

28/03/2013

címkék: easter

Don't Be Afraid!

If we honestly look inside us, it turns out that we are afraid of many things. What wakes us up from our dreams? What causes pain in our thoughts? How could we secure ourselves? We can feel our vulnerability, our fear, because we often experience our weaknesses.

28/03/2013

címkék: easter

The Symbol of the Cross to the RCH

The use of the cross as a symbol is considered taboo in Reformed traditions, although it is not forbidden. "The cross is not responsible for anything," however it can awaken some "painful historical memories," says Károly Fekete, rector of the Reformed Theological University of Debrecen.

28/03/2013

címkék: easter

"You are witnesses of these things." (Lk 24:48)

The 2013 Easter message of the Reformed Church in Hungary is a video that examines what Easter means to 8-year-olds from class 2 B at Julianna Reformed Primary School. The students discuss why Jesus' death and resurrection is significant to them.

28/03/2013

címkék: campaign, easter

Extraordinary Synod in Lithuania

On 23 March, the Evangelical Reformed Church in Lithuania, a member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches, held an extraordinary Synod attended by Balázs Ódor, Ecumenical Officer of the RCH, as the representative of WCRC Europe.

25/03/2013

címkék: world communion of reformed churches (wcrc), Synod, Lithuania

The greeting of the new Catholic leader

The Presidency Council of the Reformed Church in Hungary congratulates the newly elected Head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis I, who was inaugurated on Tuesday.

22/03/2013

We Are Not Alone – Leuenberg conference in Budapest

On the 18th of March during a conference held at the Evangelical-Lutheran Theological University, Reformed and Lutheran bishops commemorated the 40th anniversary of the signing of the Leuenberg Concord and Protestant unity.

22/03/2013

címkék: leuenberg