Seventy Christians were beheaded in a Protestant church in the north-eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo. In response to the tragedy, the Hungary Helps Agency and the RCH have joined forces to provide financial assistance to the victims' families.
From November 25th to the 27th, HEKS/EPER hosted a Church Cooperation Consultation in Budapest in cooperation with the Reformed Church in Hungary (RCH). The consultation brought together various church partners from ten countries to discuss the variety and nuance of church missions across diverse contexts.
Church leaders in Hungary prayed for persecuted Christians in a joint service at the opening of the Ecumenical Week of Prayer in St Stephen's Basilica. At the event, Reformed Bishop József Steinbach stressed that Christ himself became the Good Samaritan, and on the cross, he "went to the very end for us" to show his boundless love.
Lieutenant Colonel Szilárd Sajtos, a Reformed military chaplain, has visited the Middle East several times as a member of various military missions. In a recently published study on Eastern Christianity, he explained that the survival of the church in the region has been in serious danger due to massive emigration.
On September 2nd, the Reformed community in Hungary supported two gatherings to bring awareness and affirm its support for the Christian community facing persecution in Pakistan. A gathering hosted by the Érdliget Reformed Parish included powerful testimonies, and another, a prayer group hosted at the community center for the Refugee Ministry, honored the victims of the persecution.
On February 6th, 2023, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck regions of southern Turkey and northern Syria. In response to the crisis in Syria, the Reformed Church of Transcarpathia (RCT) raised a tremendous aid package of 30,000 Euros to support the National Evangelical Synod of Syria and Lebanon (NESSL) in its efforts to respond to this crisis.
The Ecumenical Council of Churches in Hungary (ECCH) delegation visited the Holy Land on May 15-18 at the invitation of the Higher Presidential Committee of Churches Affairs in Palestine.
His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II held a reception in honor of Bishop Zoltán Balog, Ministerial President of the Synod of RCH during a visit of the Hungarian delegation in Syria, led by the Bishop.
The Hungarian Reformed Church Aid (HRCA) launched a donation campaign last year to support the humanitarian program offering help to Afghan refugees in the country. Thanks to the donations, RCH was able to offer 14 000 USD to the Presbyterian community in Pakistan.
Károli Gáspár University of the RCH founded a scholarship scheme to provide study opportunities for young Christian students who are living in minority in selected countries in the Middle-East, Asia and Africa. The University offers 5 full scholarship a year. Deadline for applications is 30th April.
At the invitation of Bishop Zoltán Balog, ministerial president of the Synod, a delegation from Lebanon and Syria visited RCH, among them Rev. Najla Kassab, President of the World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC).
The Hungarian Reformed Church Aid, answering the call of the Presbyterian Church in Pakistan, launched a two-week donation campaign to support the humanitarian program offering help to Afghan refugees in the country.
We have been blessed in the past years by a growing partnership with the Armenian Evangelical Community in Syria. In an interview we asked Rev. Dr. Harout Selimian, president of the community, to reflect on the cooperation, the support of the Hungary Helps Program and the actual situation in the country.
Two partner churches of the Reformed Church in Hungary (RCH) received aid through the Hungary Helps Program in the past two years, the project period closed on the end of 2020. The Hungarian help served Reformed institutions of the country which are in critical condition and made bigger investments possible.
During a video conference on December 22nd, the Debrecen Reformed Theological University (DRHE), the Transtibiscan Diocese and the Both Antal Theological and Cultural Foundation delivered their joint donation to the Protestant theological school in Beirut, which suffered damage in the explosions on August 4th.
RCH joined the initiative of the Christian Solidarity International (CSI) urging to stop sanctions against Syria. Bishop István Szabó supports the appeal and signed the open letter to presidents of the US and the European Council.
RCH joined the initiative of the Karachi based Tehillim School of Church Music & Worship in partnership with the Presbyterian Church of Pakistan to support the reformed families in the country as they prepare for Christmas and witness about Christ's love for all.
On December 16, 2020, His Holiness Patriarch Mor Ignatius Aphrem II received the keys of the building which the Government of Hungary gave to the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate to administer as a Syriac Center for the period of 50 years.