The Unitarian Church has a new bishop

Pastor István Kovács of Sepsiszentgyörgy is the new bishop of the Hungarian Unitarian Church!

István Kovács, pastor of Sepsiszentgyörgyi and director of public affairs, was elected bishop of the Hungarian Unitarian Church (MUE) for the next six years on Saturday by the renewal synod meeting simultaneously in two locations - in Cluj, in the downtown Unitarian church, and in Budapest, in the church of the Bartók Béla Unitarian Parish.

A telecommunication connection between the participants of the meetings ensured the conditions for joint deliberation. According to his biography on the unitarius.org website, István Kovács was born in Kőhalom in 1959 and graduated from Sepsiszentgyörgy in 1978. After completing his studies at the Unitarian Faculty of the Protestant Theological Institute in Cluj, he served as a pastor in Marosvásárhely, Sepsiszentkirály, and Sepsiszentgyörgy. In the meantime, he also worked as a councilor in the local government, and took a role in the leadership of the county branch of the Székely National Council and the Sepsiszentgyörgy branch of the Hungarian Civil Party.

István Kovács applied as the only candidate for the position of bishop, which has been held by Ferenc Bálint Benczédi since 2008. During his episcopal service, the Unitarians of Transylvania and Hungary, divided by the borders of Trianon, were reunited within the framework of the Hungarian Unitarian Church.

Dávid Ferenc , born in Cluj around 1520 . The Unitarian religion recognizes a single divine person, the inscription "God is one" can often be read at the entrance of Unitarian churches. The religious decision of the Transylvanian Parliament in 1568

for the first time in the world, it enshrined in law the right to freedom of conscience and religion.

This led to state recognition of the only Hungarian historical church founded in Transylvania. The Hungarian Unitarian Church was divided by the Trianon borders into the Hungarian and Transylvanian churches, which decided to reunite in June 2012.

Source and full article: kronikaonline.ro