CHURCH LIFE IN CSONGRÁD COUNTY

The Church life in Csongrád County shows major likeness to that of the country. This is because the Roman Catholic Church also has the most powerful mass influence in our County. The Reformed and Calvinist Churches follow the Roman Catholic Church. Almost every small evangelical church has a congregation in our region (besides the historical churches). Among the denominations the Jewish denomination must be mentioned. Probably the powerful influence of Christianity could be the reason why the oriental denominations such as Buddhism and Islam did not take roots in the County.

THE ROMAN CATHOLIC CHURCH

The organisation of the Roman Catholic Church is characterised by centralism based on strict hierarchy and of monarchic nature. The Roman Catholic Pope is the head, main teacher, governor and judge of the church. His direct advisers and colleagues are the cardinals. In Hungary there is one cardinal, dr. László Paskai, who is the primate archbishop of the Esztergom Primary Diocese. The leading body of the Hungarian Roman Catholic Church is the Hungarian Catholic Cardinal Conference. The Catholic Church in Hungary is divided into four archbishop dominions as the Primary Dioceses of Esztergom, Kalocsa and Eger and Veszprém Archdiocese and ten dioceses within the Archdiocese dominion as Debrecen-Nyíregyháza, Győr, Hajdúdorog Greek Catholic, Kaposvár, Miskolc Greek Catholic Apostolic Exarchate, Pécs, Szeged-Csanád, Székesfehérvár, Szombathely and Vác.
The borders of the dioceses are usually not identical with the borders of the administrative counties.
The administrative area of Csongrád County belonged to the Vác and Szeged-Csanád Dioceses until 1993 when the Pope, in his Whitsun Decree of 1993, regulated the borders of the Hungarian Dioceses. Since then the administrative border of our County has been entirely belonging to the Szeged-Csanád Diocese. The Episcopal headquarters is at the Aradi Vértanúk tér 2 in Szeged and its cathedral is the Szeged Inner-town church. The Csongrád-Csanád Diocese consists of 2 Archdeaconries (the Cathedral and Békés) 8 deanery districts and 124 presbyteries and priesthood. Csongrád County's area coincides with the area of the Cathedral Archdeaconry. The Archdeaconry is divided into four deanery districts the Szeged, Kistelek, Szentes and Makó districts. In these deanery districts 67 independent presbyteries and priesthood are working.
The new priest generation is studying at the Szeged Theological College (Szeged, Dóm tér 6.) in average numbering 15-20 from the Szeged-Csanád Diocese and in the same number from the other dioceses of Hungary.
More and more church kindergartens, primary and secondary schools, youth hostels, colleges and universities have been working since the 90s.
Among the Hungarian monastic orders the Eucharistic Servant Nuns (Servants of Sacramental Jesus) the female monastic order of papal rights support the priests in church services.

THE GREEK CATHOLIC CHURCH

The Christians who separated from the Greek Orthodox Churches and emerged with the Roman Catholic Church are the Greek Catholics. They have accepted the primate of the Pope, the structural order of the Catholic Church as well as all the dogmas in which the Roman Catholics believe. But at the same time they have kept their oriental (Byzantine) liturgy and also their ancient traditions regarding church disciplines.
The authority of the Hajdúdorog Greek Catholic Diocese ranges over all the Greek Catholic believers living in Hungary. In Csongrád County the Greek Orthodox Presbyteries have believers in Szeged and Makó.

ORTHODOX AND GREEK ORTHODOX CHURCHES

The migratory and conquering Hungarians already got into contact with the Byzantine Empire and through of that the oriental Christianity. The new religion the ortodoxy was typical that time at the south and southeast regions of the country. These areas were under the dominion of Gyula and Ajtony chieftains. During the revival following the Mongol invasion the oriental Christianity appeared here as the Orthodox Churches of the Serb, Roman and Greek nationalities settling down here. Owing to this even today, the Hungarian Orthodox Church is divided into four Church Jurisdictions the Serb, Roman, Hungarian and Bulgarian.

In our County mostly the Serb, Roman and Hungarian Orthodox Churches have dioceses where the nationalities live. The Convent of the Serb Orthodox Diocese is located in Szentendre and its county parsonages are in Szeged, Szőreg, Deszk and Magyarcsanád. The centre of the Roman Orthodox Diocese is in Gyula and its congregation within the County is in Magyarcsanád. The Hungarian Orthodox Church has parish communities in Szentes and Szeged. -

PROTESTANT CHURCHES

The protestant churches are those religious communities, which developed in the 16th century on the bases of reformation. Originally only the adherence of Luther's doctrines were named Protestants because they "protested" against the regulations which prohibited the propagation of reformation. This expression became later the collective name of the religious tendency of reformation.
Contrary to the hierarchical structure of the Catholic Church, the Protestant Churches are building up, how we say nowadays "from below". The most important organ of the church is its congregation, which elects its own leading body, the presbytery, in a democratic way. The congregations elect their priests for their own religious care. The congregations unite in dioceses and church districts. The matters, which generally influence the whole church, are administered by the Synod.

THE HUNGARIAN REFORMED CHURCH

The Hungarian Reformed Church is a Christian religious community developed on the ground of Calvinist Reformation. This Church, organised on national bases has developed rapidly in our region too. The eminent preachers of the era, like István Nagy, Gergely Szegedi and Benedek Abádi took great part in the propagation of the reformation. As a result of their influence the reformation have grown strong roots mainly in the southern region of the Tisza River in Makó, Hódmezővásárhely and Szentes. Though by now their number has reduced, the reformed families live in greater number mainly in these towns even today.
The Hungarian Reformed Church is divided into four church districts, which are as follows, alongside the Danube, in the Trans-Danube region, and the east and north territories of the Tisza River. Csongrád County belongs to that Reformed Church District which is situated in the east territory of the Tisza. The area of the Csongrád Reformed Diocese coincides with the area of the area of the administrative county. At present its headquarters is in Hódmezővásárhely. In Csongrád County there are 16 independent reformed congregations. Most of the Reformed live in the four of the larger towns of the County, in Hódmyzővásárhely, Szentes, Makó and Szeged.
There is a reformed kindergarten in Szeged, a primary school in Hódmezővásárhely, Szentes and Makó and a grammar school in Hódmszővásárhely. The Debrecen Reformed Academy of Theology has established in Szeged a pointed faculty for teachers of religion.

EVANGELIC CHURCH

The Evangelic Church is a Christian religion developed on the bases of the Luther dogmas of the reformation. They took roots in Csongrád County at the same time with the Reformed and developed independent congregations in Szentes, Hódmezővásárhely and Szeged.
The Evangelic Church is divided into two church districts the Southern and the Northern. Among the Evangelic congregations in Csongrád County, the congregation of Hódmezővásárhely belongs to the North-Békés Diocese, while the Szentes, Szeged congregations and the sister-congregation of Szeged in Makó belong to the Bács-Kikun Evangelic Diocese.

UNITARIAN CHURCH

The Unitarianism has grown from the ground of reformation. Similarly to the Protestant churches, the Unitarian also believe the Bible is the only one source of faith. But they deny the holy trinity since they consistently stand on the ground of monotheism. They worship the Biblical Christ who has been having a divine power since the resurrection. The structure of the Church is democratic.
The dogmas came to us from Transylvania propagated by Frenc Dávid. The first Unitarian Congregation of Csongrád County was established in Hódmezővásárhely in 1879. From the Congregation, it separated from the Augustine Evangelic denomination greatest in number. Some Unitarian families also live in Szeged.

SMALL EVANGELICAL CHURCHES

Under the generic terms of "small evangelical churches," those Christian religious communities are covered in Hungary. They developed due to the civic lifestyle of the 17th - 18th centuries: the emerging secularisation, the strong inter-wining of the state and church and the deeper demand for religious life. The new faith was taken home from Western Europe by returning guest workers, bible sellers and preachers. First the Nazarene arrived to Hódmezővásárhely and newer still existing congregations have developed in Szeged and Makó. The first Baptist communities developed between 1903 and 1905. Their church is situated in Szeged, Hétvezér u. 5. Between the two world wars, the 5-10-15 member Adventist communities sprang up like mushrooms. They have Congregation Houses in Szeged, Makó and Hódmezővásárhely. The Methodists have settled down in Mórahalom and Szeged. The Reform Adventist community from the Adventist and the Hungarian Evangelical Sister Community from the Methodist have separated. Until the end of the 1980s almost the whole County was enmeshed by the then illegal smaller and bigger communities of the Witnesses of Jehovah Congregation. They established two "Kingdom-Rooms" in Szeged and one in Makó, Mórahalom and Sándorfalva. They rent rooms in Csongrád, Hódmezővásárhely and Szentes for their congregational meetings. In our days the communities of the Faith Congregation grow stronger beside the other small communities. They have meeting rooms and priestly offices in Szeged, Makó, Hódmezővásárhely, Szenets és Csongrád towns.

HUNGARIAN JEWISH DENOMINATION

Like every religion, the Jewish religion also unites all of those religious conceptions and traditions, which have been developed and changed in connection with the social development of the Jewish people since ancient times to our present days. From the totemism through the anonymism and Jahve-cult, the priests have developed on the bases of strict monotheism, the unconditional respect for the law, the consciousness of selectness guaranteed by the confederacy and the rules of seclusion from the aliens and pagans.
The Jews have already had contacts with the conquering Hungarians before their settlement. King Béla IV. (1251) allowed them the free exercise of their religion in his charter. The religious law of 1895 took the Israeli denomination in the accepted religions and in 1942 the Jewish denomination was aggregated to the recognised religions.
In Csongrád County the Jews appeared in our cities following the Decree of Tolerance (1782) by József II. The Csanád Bishop permitted the settling of their first major groups in 1740 in Makó. In Szeged 18 Jewish families got permission to reside in 1786 in the "district" determined by the municipal board. At the time of Census 1920 more than 900 Jewish people lived in the territory of Csongrád County mostly in Szeged, Makó and Hódmezővásárhely. During the Second World War and the Hitlerism, the majority of the Jewish citizens of Csongrád County were also taken to the concentration camps. Their memories are kept alive by the memorial plaques placed on the walls of the hall of the Szeged new Synagogue. In our present days they live religious lives in Szeged only in the renovated Synagogue and the Community Hall of the Convent in Gutenberg Street. The Convent houses the Old People's Home of the Alliance of the Hungarian Jewish Religious Communities.

RELIGIOUSNESS AND RELIGIOUS LIFE

Religiousness and the religious life in major parts of the outlined historical era belonged to the fundamental regulators of the mankind's lifestyle. As a result of the civic transformation and secularisation the religion controlled in its actions by church practices and liturgy has more and more transformed into an intimate and individual religion manifested on emotional bases. The religious life of the small evangelical churches however, forms an exception. In these churches the lifestyle determined by the church strengthens the individual's faith by the common and regularly practised religious life.
Even today, the fundamental places of religious life are the churches and the congregational houses. In the 60 settlements of Csongrád County there are 78 churches and congregational rooms (at personages where the winter times religious services are held) 9 praying houses are available for the faithful congregations. Containing more and more secular elements, the church dedication days have not lost from their importance. At several settlements the dedication day is combined with the "village day". The churches can mobilise major crowds to their main feasts, jubilee events, confirmations and the festive ceremony, quiet day and conference belonging to the Episcopal visit.
The religious life of the youth is enriched by the revival of the religious schools, the religious instructions at schools, the jamboree movements, the juvenile groups and civil organisations belonging to the congregation.