Reformed Congregations of the Somogy Presbytery in Southern Hungary collected Seven thousand euros to support the Catholic Diocese in Sisek, Croatia, hit by a severe earthquake last year. Rev. Ferenc Hella, Dean of the presbytery, and Péter Szenn, Bishop of the Reformed Christian Calvinist Church in Croatia handed over the donation personally to Bishop Vlado Kosic.
Bishop Péter Szenn, Bishop Vlado Kosic and Dean Ferenc Hella in Sisek
Hungarian reformed congregations collected donations for the Catholic brothers and sisters in the formerly earthquake-stricken town of Sisek in Croatia. More than thirty congregations of the Somogy Presbytery of RCH and individuals donated 7000 euros, handed over on Wednesday by Ferenc Hella, pastor of the city of Nagykanizsa and dean of the Presbytery, and Péter Szenn, Bishop of the Calvinist Reformed Church in Croatia, to Vlado Kosic, Catholic bishop of Sisek. The largest amount of support came from the congregation of Csurgó, which alone raised almost 2000 Euros, but many donations were also sent from smaller villages.
Handing over of the donation
Ferenc Hella told reformatus.hu that they also felt the earthquake in the their region in the last days of 2020, and they consider it important to stand by their Christian brothers and sisters in distress. "We are helping with what we can, first we sent food and sanitary packages, and now we are offering financial support," the Dean told. He also referred to the fact that this current donation is not without precedent. Immediately after the earthquake, the congregations of Nagykanizsa and the surrounding settlements belonging to the Presbytery already collected nearly 2000 euros to support the intervention of the Red Cross.
Damaged Church in Croatia almost six months after the earthquake
Ferenc Hella said that, since boarder crossing is possible again, they have decided to deliver the aid personally and to share messages of support from Hungarian Reformed congregations to the victims of the earthquake in Croatia.
Bishop Péter Szenn added that through the ecumenical effort the Reformed Church wish to witness to the glory of God.
The Hungarian Reformed Church Aid also called for support and prayer earlier this year and delivered the donations collected during a national campaign to the Catholic diocese of Sisek on 19 February to help repair the damages caused by the natural disaster.
"We thank everyone who contributed to the collection and we bring everyone's blessings, wishes and prayers to our brothers and sisters in Croatia. We assure them that our Christian brothers and sisters will not be abandoned and that we stand with them in solidarity in their distress," said Rev. Hella.
Bishop Kosic thanked for the donation and emphasized that ecumenism in practice includes offering a helping hand to brothers and sisters in need. The Bishop also remarked that they received the largest support from Hungary from among the countries of the European Union.
After the Earthquake in Croatia
The Reformed Christian Calvinist Church in Croatia opened their out of use parishes for the victim families of the earthquake in Petrinja. The Hungarian Reformed Church Aid (HRCA) launched a fundraising campaign to support reconstruction works. Péter Szenn Bishop of the Reformed Christian Calvinist Church in Croatia explained the the details in an interview.