The Sub-Carpathian Reformed Church (SCRC) () is a

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

Reformed

Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

association in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

that traces its roots to the works of

Huldrych Zwingli Huldrych or Ulrich Zwingli (1 January 1484 – 11 October 1531) was a Swiss Christian theologian, musician, and leader of the Reformation in Switzerland. Born during a time of emerging Swiss patriotism and increasing criticism of the Swis ...

and

John Calvin John Calvin (; ; ; 10 July 150927 May 1564) was a French Christian theology, theologian, pastor and Protestant Reformers, reformer in Geneva during the Protestant Reformation. He was a principal figure in the development of the system of C ...

from the 1520s and 1530s. By 2007, it had 105 communities, 55 ministers and 105 churches.''The Sub-Carpathian Reformed Church in Religious Information Service of Ukraine Catalog'' The Church is located in the Sub-Carpathian region, with its center in

Berehove Berehove (, ; , ) is a city in Zakarpattia Oblast, western Ukraine. It is situated near the border with Hungary. It is the cultural centre of the Hungarian minority in Ukraine, and Hungarians constitute roughly half (a plurality) of its popula ...

. The area borders on several

Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...

an countries, and is home to various ethnic groups, including

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 ...

Slovaks The Slovaks ( (historical Sloveni ), singular: ''Slovák'' (historical: ''Sloven'' ), feminine: ''Slovenka'' , plural: ''Slovenky'') are a West Slavic ethnic group and nation native to Slovakia who share a common ancestry, culture, history ...

and Ukrainians. The SCRC is regarded as the oldest Protestant community in Ukraine, with the first group of Reformers arriving in Sub-Carpathia in the 1530s. It is also the only church of the

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 ...

tradition in the region. The Church is organizationally divided into three regions: Uzhanskyi, Berezskyi, Maromorosh-Ugochanskyi, each overseen by the Church's governing board. The highest governing and regulating bodies are the General Assembly and Synod of the Governing Board of the Church.

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

s and members of the Synod are elected for four-year terms. The majority of the SCRC faithful are ethnic Hungarians. The Church promoted the establishment of three specialized

secondary school A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

s (with teaching of additional religious and

theological Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of an ...

subjects), operates 80

Sunday school ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...

s, has its special charitable organization, charitable foundation, and publishes a quarterly journal ''Mission'' (with 500 copies circulation). Pastoral leaders are educated and trained mainly in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

, and

Slovakia Slovakia, officially the Slovak Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is bordered by Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east, Hungary to the south, Austria to the west, and the Czech Republic to the northwest. Slovakia's m ...

. The present leader of the community is Bishop Zan Fabian Aleksandr (since January 2007). The Church is a member of

World Alliance of Reformed Churches The World Alliance of Reformed Churches (WARC) was a fellowship of more than 200 churches with roots in the 16th century Reformation, and particularly in the theology of John Calvin. Its headquarters was in Geneva, Switzerland. They merged with the ...

and by some estimations involves about 140,000 parishioners.László Medgyessy, , The Hungarian Quarterly, vol. 42, no. 161, Spring 2001. Several church buildings of reformers are well-known historical monuments and tourist attractions to Zakarpattya, namely a stone Gothic church in Muzhievo, a Gothic church in Chetfolvo (15th century), a

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

church in Chetfolvo, and a Gothic church in

Novoselytsia Novoselytsia (, ; , ; ; ) is a city in Chernivtsi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast, Chernivtsi Raion, Chernivtsi Oblast (oblast, province) of Ukraine. It stands at the northern tip of Bessarabia region, on its border with Bukovina. It hosts the administra ...

(Beken).''Administration of Zakarpatska Oblast official web-site'' Leaders and members of the Sub-Carpathian Reformed Church were persecuted by the

communist Communism () is a sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology within the socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a socioeconomic order centered on common ownership of the means of production, di ...

authorities in the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

and were sent to

Gulag The Gulag was a system of Labor camp, forced labor camps in the Soviet Union. The word ''Gulag'' originally referred only to the division of the Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies, Soviet secret police that was in charge of runnin ...

labour camps in

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

. By some estimations, 40,000 persons from Sub-Carpathia perished between Fall 1944 (when the Soviet Army invaded the territory) and 1956.

References

{{Christianity in Ukraine Protestantism in Ukraine Reformed denominations in Europe

See also

References