Fraternity-Testvériség, 1961 (39. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1961-09-01 / 9. szám
FRATERNITY 11 bishops and curators of the Church Districts, along with 28 other representatives; all these 28 must be elected by the Districts. The Conventus represents the Church in every aspect of its life, deals with matters common to all the Church Districts, puts into effect the decisions of the Synod, and looks after the legal rights of the Church. The Conventus prepares the Synod’s agenda, has charge of missions, both home and foreign, the oversight of church schools, and represents the Church in the eyes of the State. The Synod The Synod is the law-making court of the Church. It is composed of 114 members, representing the various Church Districts and schools. All bishops are ex officio members of it. It is the Synod that makes all decisions in matters of stipend, church worship, the production of hymn books and schools books, and in the direction of theological education, and it is the Synod that expounds and interprets the laws of the Church. Finance The 1881 Synod established a Central Fund for the whole Church from which the poorer congregations might receive financial aid, for the creation of new parishes, schools and churches, for the supplementation of the stipends of poorer paid clergy, for the care of Reformed Church people in scattered areas beyond normal parish ministrations, and for the establishment of a Ministers’ Beneficiary Fund. The Synod decreed that every head of a family must contribute annually to this Central Fund. Up till the year 1848 the Hungarian Reformed Church received no direct financial support from the State. But according to Article XX of the Law of 1848 all “accepted” Churches, i. e., those that carried historic rights, were to receive the whole of their financial sustenance from the State. Fortunately, this principle was never put into practice in its entirety. From
