Reformierte Kirchen aus Ungarn, Rumänien, Transkarpatien (Ukraine), Slovakien, Serbien, Kroatien und Slovenien schließen sich zu einer synodalen Gemeinschaft zusammen, der Ungarischen Reformierten Kirche (Hungarin Reformed Chruch).
Einladung zur konstituierenden Synode der Ungarischen Reformierten Kirche,
unterzeichnet von Bischof Dr. Bölcskei Gusztáv und Präsident Dr. Imre Sándor
im Namen des Präsidums der Reformierten Kirchen im Karpaten-Becken >>>
Auszug aus der Meldung zur Gründung der Hungarian Reformed Church auf der Internetseite der Reformierten Kirche in Ungarn: www.reformatus.hu
“On 22 May 2009 the Reformed Churches in the Carpathian Basin will express their unity by accepting a common constitution. Get acquainted with the constitution! Preamble Dating back to the Reformation, the Hungarian Reformed Church has always flourished on the territory of various countries and within the frameworks of different states, embracing in Canon Law with other ethnic churches of the Carpathian Basin who joined the Reformation.
In the 16th century, after the rupture of the historical territory of Hungary into two - and later three parts - the Western region was brought under the rule of the Habsburg Empire. The Principality of Transylvania was established in the Eastern territory. The region encircled by these two witnessed the development of Ottoman dominion with its changing borders. After the expulsion of the Ottomans, Transylvania maintained its independence.
Following the Austro-Hungarian Compromise of 1867, 14 years of preparatory work gave birth to the complete organisational structure of the Hungarian Reformed Church in 1881, at Debrecen.
Until the issuance of the Trianon Peace Treaty, the Reformed population in the Carpathian Basin lived on the territory of one state; however, as a result of Western and Eastern immigration, the "Overseas Diocese" took shape in the United States of America and the "Old Romanian Diocese" within the borders of the Romanian Principality
After WWI, Hungarian Reformed people lived in Austria, Czechoslovakia, Romania and Yugoslavia, besides the Hungarian territories left behind.
Following the provisional re-annexation, the situation remained unchanged until 1989/90. Since the changes, the Reformed population of the Carpathian Basin have lived in Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia. Hungarian Reformed people live in Western Europe, the United States of America and Canada either engaged in independent Reformed ecclesiastical organisations or in the Reformed church of those countries. Hungarian Reformed people also live or serve in other dozens of countries, either as independent congregations or in varying degrees of ecclesiastical organisations.
As a result of further historical changes in the early 21st century, the Hungarian Reformed population of the Carpathian Basin, except for Ukraine, Serbia and Croatia, now lives under the same federation, the European Union.
The organisational structure of the Hungarian Reformed church, once violently torn apart, can now gradually be re-established. Re-establishing unity is even more feasible as the Hungarian Reformed people continuously preserved their unity of faith and theology, based on God's Word, creeds of the ancient church, the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Second Helvetic Confession. Worship agendas maintained their common principles, and the unity in serving the sacraments - baptism and communion - has never been discarded. Reformed Christian education, pastoral service, mission, Christian charity, Synod-Presbyterian governance based on parity and the basic principles of exercising ecclesiastical discipline never questioned unity and communion, nor unity with non-Hungarian Reformed church people.”
Weiter im Text auf: http://www.majus22.org/constitution.html