We, Hungarian reformed people from all corners of the Carpathian Basin and from the diaspora worldwide, met in Sepsiszentgyörgy (Sfantu Gheorge) on the invitation of the Transylvanian Reformed Church District to remember the 450^th Anniversary of Calvin’s death and to recall the last ten years of our cooperation in the framework of our Convent.

We give thanks to God that the declaration of our belongingness and unity beyond borders did not become a source of controversy but proved to be a means for living out the responsibility and solidarity we have toward each other and those entrusted to us. The reports given at the meeting convinced us once more that this form of our cooperation provides a convenient and lively framework for deepening our community and unity.  

As we prepare for the 500^th Anniversary of the Reformation, we first of all celebrate God’s gospel revealed in Christ, which still today shapes our life individually and in community. In the spirit of the Geneva reformation, we look at faithful social responsibility and the commitment to issues of public life as an inherent aspect of the mission of the church. When unveiling the first statue of Calvin in Transylvania, we did not merely honor the past. We expressed in the footsteps of the Reformer the still valid conviction that our belief in the justice and grace of God is inseparable from promoting justice among the people: “where God is honored, humanity is …”. In this sense, we urge that the case of Reformed Székely Mikó College, the venue of our meeting, be settled as quickly as possible in a lawful way, leaving the property with the church district.           

As members of the same body living in the territory of seven countries, we express our solidarity and support especially to our reformed brothers and sisters in Sub-Carpathia and to the people in Ukraine hit by the conflict. We pray for a just peace to prevail, we stand up against all forms of violence, and through our cooperation and donation try to ease the struggles of those living in the armed conflict and critical economic situation. We call upon the Hungarian reformed communities and our sister churches worldwide to express their solidarity in the form of a special support in cooperation with the Hungarian Reformed Church Aid.   

In awareness of our responsibility to each other and for the future of our community, we express our deep concern for the negative changes of legal regulations for church related small-size educational institutions in many countries of the region. This process not only threatens the public service of our churches but also endangers the traditional cultural and religious diversity of Eastern-Central Europe and with it the basic values of the European Union. 

Gottfried Locher, president of the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches, the governing board of the Swiss Interchurch Aid (HEKS), as well as political representatives, Ministers Zoltán Balogh and Hunor Kelemen and the mayor of Sepsiszentgyörgy, Árpád András Antal, attended this sitting and highlighted the progressive, peace-building importance of our Hungarian reformed unity.

This year is the end of a term in many of our sister churches’ lives. The community of the General Convent gave thanks for the work of those who under the ruling of the member churches cannot be re-elected.

According to the motto of the 7^th Hungarian Reformed World Summit, we engage ourselves to strengthen our unity through the sharing of Christ’s reconciling gospel and service to our nation in order that we too may make God’s actions visible.

Christ is the future, we follow Him together!

Sepsiszentgyörgy, 11 July 2014