The Synodal Council of the ECCB as guest of the Christian Reformed Church in Slovakia

In the beginning of November 2011 the Synodal Council of the ECCB visited the Christian Reformed Church (CRK) in Slovakia. The Church leadership of the CRK invited the Synodal Council to a meeting in Komárno after the Synodal Council expressed its concerns regarding recent developments in the Christian Reformed Church in Slovakia. The Synodal Council expressed its concerns regarding the development of the relationship between the Hungarian majority and the Slovak minority in this Church. The trigger for the current tensions was the decision of the majority of the CRK Synod that the Hungarian part of the Christian Reformed Church in Slovakia joins the Hungarian Reformed Church, which was founded in 2009 at the synod in Debrecen. This decision has led to confusion in the Slovak part of the CRK as the communications about this issue and its significance were insufficient. Representatives of both sides, the Hungarian as well as the Slovak, explained in very friendly and open discussions their different perceptions of this problem. It became very clear in this conversation how important communication is and how it can backfire if problematic issues are not discussed thoroughly with each other.

At the end of the very intense discussions all participants valued them as very useful for mutual understanding. Similarly, it was noted how much in history, and in the present, unites the ECCB with the CRK and how many people are connected to each other across both churches. It was agreed that there should be another meeting in 2012 between the church leaders of both churches on the territory of the ECCB, to continue and intensify the conversation and the exchange.

Gerhard Frey-Reininghaus