Debrecen4U May 26, 2025

Thousands gathered in Debrecen on the Hungarian Reformed Unity Day

Thousands of reformed people from Hungary, the surrounding countries of the Carpathian Basin, and three other continents came to the event. The city hosted the programme for the fourth time.

Folk dance show in front of the Great Church. Several programmes awaited the participants of the Hungarian Reformed Unity Day on Saturday. Several thousand people gathered from Hungary, the surrounding countries of the Carpathian Basin, as well as from Australia and North and South America. “They came not only from the Carpathian Basin but also from overseas. The furthest away was a representative of the Argentine Women’s Association, from Buenos Aires, so we can say that the world’s Reformed people are represented,” Bishop of the Reformed Church District of Tiszántúl Károly Fekete emphasised.

In 1567, pastors from this side and beyond the River Tisza and Transylvania signed the second Helvetic confession of faith in Debrecen, which established the then-Hungarian Reformed Church. On May 22, 2009, the constitution of the Hungarian Reformed Church was adopted in the Great Church. With this decision, the Hungarian Reformed Churches of the Carpathian Basin strengthened their unity and declared their constitutional unity.

In his welcoming speech, the pastoral president of the Synod of the Hungarian Reformed Church, József Steinbach, said, “We need Christ, and we need each other. Through us, we need to be able to address the world because the world is waiting for the good news.” He continued, “We are in need; this world is in need. If we know that we need Christ, we need each other to address the world in need, and then the Lord’s blessing will be upon us. The future is Jesus Christ.”

The Reformation is a matter of community. Mayor László Papp said in his welcoming speech, “We proudly confess, regardless of denominational affiliation, that Debrecen is the cradle of Hungarian Reformedism, which has shaped the nation for centuries. Unity and cohesion inwards. Unity and cohesion outward. This is the basis of Debrecen’s strength and its unbroken development for decades. It is a great pleasure for me that Christian unity is strengthened by openness towards other denominations.”

Debrecen hosted the Hungarian Reformed Unity Day for the fourth time after 2009, 2014 and 2019.

Source and photo credit:debrecen.hu