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Sub-Carpathian Reformed Church (SCRC)

The Sub-Carpathian Reformed Church has

• 105 communities
• 55 ministers
• 105 churches

The fundamental principles of the faith and church order of the Reformed Churches are found in the works of Zwingli and Calvin written during the 1520s and 1530s. The first group of Reformers appeared in Sub-Carpathia in the beginning of the 1530s. In 1545 two Reformed Synods were held in Berehovo, in which Calvinism was declared the religion of the Hungarian population there. (Sub-Carpathia borders on various countries, and Romanians, Hungarians, Slovaks and other ethnic groups live there, in addition to Ukrainians.) Today the Sub-Carpathian Reformed Church is autonomous and it is the only Church in Ukraine of the Calvinist tradition. The majority of the faithful of the SCRC are ethnic Hungarians.

The Church is structurally divided into 3 regions, which are subject to the governing board of the SCRC. The highest governing and regulating organs are the General Assembly and the Synod of the Governing Board of the Church. Bishops and members of the Synod of the Governing Board are elected for four-year terms. Today there are over 100 communities of the SCRC in 8 districts of the Sub-Carpathian region where there is a large Hungarian population.

Pastoral leaders are trained outside the country, mainly in Hungary, Romania and Slovakia. At the initiative of the SCRC three specialized secondary schools were created in 1995, where over 160 students study. In addition to the general education program, religious and theological subjects are taught at the secondary schools. Classes are conducted in the Hungarian language and the SCRC is responsible for financing.

Since 1995 a specialized charitable foundation has been active, which provides material aid for vulnerable members of the population. One of its first endeavors has been opening a home for developmentally delayed children in the Uzhhorod district.

Since 1998 the Governing Board of the SCRC has been publishing a quarterly journal, Mission, with a circulation of 500.