We give thanks to God for the generations before us, whom He inspired by His Spirit again and again to shape their life and carry out its mission according to the biblical insights and teaching of our confessions.

450 years ago, in the midst of serious debates, the leaders and governing bodies of our reformed church “renewed according to the Gospel” and accepted the Second Helvetic Confession, because they were working with full commitment to renew the life and mission of the church according to God’s will and cleanse it from false doctrines to preserve its unity given in Christ and witness all this to everyone.

Following the example of many European churches of the time, by this decision, the Synod of Debrecen wished to provide assistance and orientation on the reformed Christian faith, life, teaching, and service.

Today, the Common Synod of the Hungarian Reformed Church, still embracing the consideration of its forefathers, re-affirmed the Second Helvetic Confession.

While giving thanks for the insights of its forefathers and praising God for the blessings of the Reformation through the centuries, in the spirit of the legacy of the Reformation and confessional spirituality, the Synod declares that:

-          it continuously strives to explore and teach the intention of the Scripture and the Christian faith as well as shape the life of its congregations and institutions according to this teaching.

-          at all times it is ready to give an account of the Christian faith and its hope in Christ in the world, considered as God’s good creation, and to which it owes to testify the truth of the Gospel and thus the redeeming will of God.

-          it witnesses the unity of Christian faith and life and seeks to avoid false doctrines, which aim to destroy this unity from inside or outside, separating it from Christ.

-          it recognizes with repentance and self-examination all expressions of the life and teaching of the church which hindered the fulfillment of its mission in the past or endangers the purity of the testimony of the Gospel and credibility of its service in the present.

-          “with humble readiness of being instructed for the better,” by continuous prayer, studying the scripture, sharing experiences of faith, and appreciating theological reflection, the Synod is ready for a deeper and fuller understanding of the Word of God, praying for the blessing of growing in grace so that the life and mission of our church may become richer, fuller, and more faithful.

-          besides representing and offering an in-depth study of the values of our official confessions, it strives to learn and examine the circumstances and conditions of contemporary confessions of the Christian faith of other members of the worldwide church in their teaching and liturgical legacy, in the spirit of mutual appreciation, fraternal dialogue, and understanding.

Christ is the future! We follow him together!

Common Synod of the Hungarian Reformed Church

Debrecen, on 24th June 2017