"The two were running together, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first." (John 20:4)
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
At Easter, in the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, the saving love of the gracious God was revealed. Life and redeeming love triumphed over death and hatred.
Yet in the hearts of Mary Magdalene, who set out early in the morning for the tomb, and of the frightened disciples, grief and hopelessness still reigned after the events of Good Friday. From a human perspective, the sight of the empty tomb was a frightening experience, for it seemed to point only to something bad: Christ’s body had been taken away.
The Gospel also conveys the alarm of Easter morning by describing how the characters in the story run back and forth, much like a person desperately and frantically searching for a solution. Mary runs with the news to the disciples; then Peter and John set out running toward the tomb, yet they do not arrive together, because John runs ahead.
In our constantly rushing world, this frantic running is familiar to us, just as fear and uncertainty regularly settle into our hearts. God sent His only begotten Son to us so that fear, hopelessness, and the darkness of sin might not prevail in our lives, and so that our lives would not be a relentless race under the yoke of sin, but rather, rooted in God’s grace, we might rejoice in deliverance and in the light of Christ.
Our Hungarian Reformed Church proclaims the Risen One—God’s truth, life, and redemption—even in a troubled world rushing toward war and drifting into chaos. The message of Easter is that God restrains the forces of evil and sets humanity free. With this faith and hope, let us look upon the empty tomb and the Risen One, and as people who have been set free, bear witness to the Good News also to those who are still running aimlessly and without hope: Christ is risen!
Blessed Easter to every congregation in the Carpathian Basin and throughout the diaspora!
Christ is the future—we follow Him together!
Zoltán Balog, Bishop and Sándor Veres, Lay President
Dunamellék Reformed Church District
József Steinbach, Bishop and Dr. Pál Nemes, Lay President
Transdanubian Reformed Church District
Dr. Vilmos József Kolumbán, Bishop and Attila Ambrus, Lay President
Reformed Church in Transylvania
Péter Szenn, Bishop and József Kel, Lay President
Reformed Christian Calvinist Church in Croatia
Sándor Fábián Zán, Bishop and Gábor Danku, Lay President
Reformed Church in Transcarpathia
Szabolcs János Bogdán, Bishop and István Lajos Bara, Lay President
Királyhágómellék Reformed Church District
László Harangozó, Bishop and Károly Székely, Lay President
Reformed Christian Church in Serbia
Róbert Géresi, Bishop and Ferenc Porubán, Lay President
Reformed Christian Church in Slovakia
Sándor Barna, Bishop and Dr. Pál Molnár, Lay President
Cistibiscan Reformed Church District
Dr. Károly Fekete, Bishop and János Molnár, Lay President
Transtibiscan Reformed Church District
Presidium of the General Convent
As the common representative body of the Reformed churches in the Carpathian Basin, the General Convent has an important role in the coordination of common issues and works to achieve unity through a harmonizing liturgy and Hymnbook, because of their cooperation in mission and diaconia. The General Convent consists of all the deans and lay presidents in office of the Reformed presbyteries within the Carpathian Basin, as well as bishops and chief elders in office of the church districts.
Its presidium meets every two months and is composed of the bishops and chief elders (lay presidents) of the ten church districts in office.