Organisation

To organise church life on regional and national levels, the RCH has established higher structural bodies for church legislation and operation: 27 presbyteries, 4 districts and the General Synod. Presbyteries usually contain approximately 30-40 congregations and have mainly administrative roles; each Presbytery belongs to one of the 4 church districts:

• the Cistibiscan Church District (centre: Miskolc),
• the Transtibiscan Church District (centre: Debrecen),
• the Danubian Church District (centre: Budapest),
• or the Transdanubian Church District (centre: Pápa).

The ultimate source of church legislation and administration of the Reformed Church in Hungary is the General Synod.

The RCH (as a member of the family of Reformed churches in the world) is constructed in a representative way from below, from the congregational level. A group of church members elects members of governing bodies on all levels of the church, and at all levels above the congregation, pastors and lay people are represented equally.

The church levels function independently, providing various kinds of service and using their own budget. Our common church constitution, together with a set of specific rules and regulations, makes it possible for different units of the church to create their own operational design, collect maintenance fees, and rent out church buildings and other properties according to their needs. However, for certain transactions they depend on higher church bodies. These general rules allow for freedom and flexibility in the congregations' operation, but they also protect the integrity of the church, a value that is highly important in our service. Interestingly enough, this Calvinist representative system and church governance method, which was first used in the 18th century United States Constitution, became the pattern for present-day democratic election procedures.