The Reformed Christian Church in Slovakia (, ) has 85,000 members in 205 parishes and 103 mission churches and 59 house fellowships in 9 presbyteries. The members are mostly

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

living in the southern part of the country, and it has a shared history with the

Reformed Church in Hungary The Reformed Church in Hungary (, MRE, ) is the largest Protestant church in Hungary, with parishes also among the Hungarian diaspora abroad. It is made up of 1,249 congregations in 27 presbyteries and four church districts and has a membershi ...

. The bishop is the head of the church, in contrast with other

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

churches.

History

Before

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, these congregations were part of the

The Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the papacy and ...

reached this part of the country in 1520s, first

Lutheranism Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...

dominated then later

Calvinism Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyteri ...

did. In 1567, four presbyteries were formed in Eastern Slovakia. In the Synod of Debrecen the

Second Helvetic Confession The Helvetic Confessions are two documents expressing the common belief of Reformed Christianity, Reformed churches, especially in Switzerland, whose primary author was the Swiss Reformed theologian Heinrich Bullinger. The First Helvetic Confessi ...

was adopted. During the

Counter Reformation The Counter-Reformation (), also sometimes called the Catholic Revival, was the period of Catholic resurgence that was initiated in response to, and as an alternative to or from similar insights as, the Protestant Reformations at the time. It w ...

, the princes of

Transylvania Transylvania ( or ; ; or ; Transylvanian Saxon dialect, Transylvanian Saxon: ''Siweberjen'') is a List of historical regions of Central Europe, historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and ...

protected the Calvinist faith and extended their supremacy to this part of Hungary. After World War II, the church adopted its constitution. In 1925, a theological seminary was founded in

Lučenec Lučenec (; ; ; ; Lelkes György (1992), Magyar helységnév-azonosító szótár, Balassi Kiadó, Budapest, 508 p.) is a town in the Banská Bystrica Region of south-central Slovakia. Historically, it was part, and in the 18th century the capital ...

. In 1950s the denomination adopted a constitution. After the collapse of communism, the church adopted a new constitution. It runs five primary schools, two secondary schools and one kindergarten.

Doctrine

Heidelberg Catechism The Heidelberg Catechism (1563), one of the Three Forms of Unity, is a Reformed catechism taking the form of a series of questions and answers, for use in teaching Reformed Christian doctrine. It was published in 1563 in Heidelberg, Germany. Its ...

Demographics

The church had 85,000 members and 204 parishes and 103 congregations and 54 mission churches in 2011 a decrease of 25,000 since 2021, mostly in southern Slovakia among Hungarians. In 2011, the Church had about 110,000 members. Out of this number Hungarian speaking members were about 95,000–100,000, the church has 225 active pastors, 200 are Hungarian speaking. There are 9 presbyteries in the denomination, the Pozsonyi, Komáromi, Barsi, Gömöri, Abaújtornai, Zempléni, Ungi, '' Michalovský (Nagymihályi)'', '' Ondavsko- Hornádský (Ondava-Hernádi)'' Presbyteries, and there are several mission congregations, like the Hungarian Reformed Church in Prague.

Interchurch relations

The Reformed Christian Church in Slovakia is a member of the

World Communion of Reformed Churches The World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) is the largest association of Reformed (Calvinist) churches in the world. It has 230 member denominations (227 members and three associate or affiliate members) in 108 countries, together claiming ...

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, most jurisdictions of the Eastern Orthodo ...

and the

Hungarian Reformed Communion The Hungarian Reformed Church (HRC) or Hungarian Reformed Communion () is a global fellowship of continental Reformed denominations historically related to the Reformed Church of Hungary. The purpose of the organization is to maintain unity am ...

References

External links

* {{CPCE Christian schools in Slovakia