The Convention of the Hungarian Baptist Churches of Romania ( hu, Romániai Magyar Baptista Gyülekezetek Szövetsége; ro, Convenţia Bisericilor Creştine Baptiste Maghiare) is an organization of ethnic Hungarian

Baptists Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only ( believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compe ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

within the larger

Baptist Union of Romania The Union of Christian Baptist Churches in Romania ( ro, Uniunea Bisericilor Creștin Baptiste din România) is a Baptist Christian denomination in Romania. It is affiliated with the Romanian Evangelical Alliance and the Baptist World Alliance. T ...

, united for promoting cooperative ministry. In the 1870s Anton Novak, an

Ethnic German , native_name_lang = de , region1 = , pop1 = 72,650,269 , region2 = , pop2 = 534,000 , region3 = , pop3 = 157,000 3,322,405 , region4 = , pop4 = ...

colporteur Colportage is the distribution of publications, books, and religious tracts by carriers called "colporteurs" or "colporters". The term does not necessarily refer to religious book peddling. Etymology From French , where the term is an alterat ...

of the

British and Foreign Bible Society The British and Foreign Bible Society, often known in England and Wales as simply the Bible Society, is a non-denominational Christian Bible society with charity status whose purpose is to make the Bible available throughout the world. The Soc ...

, began to meet and study the

Scriptures Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual prac ...

with a group of Reformed Christians in

Transylvania Transylvania ( ro, Ardeal or ; hu, Erdély; german: Siebenbürgen) is a historical and cultural region in Central Europe, encompassing central Romania. To the east and south its natural border is the Carpathian Mountains, and to the west the Ap ...

. In 1875,

Heinrich Meyer Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer (10 January 1800 – 21 June 1873) was a German Protestant divine. He wrote commentaries on the ''New Testament'' and published an edition of that book. Biography Meyer was born in Gotha. He studied theology at Jena, ...

baptized eight of them and formed them into a church in Salonta Mare. This was the first Baptist church in Transylvania. The

was formed in 1920, but

Saxons The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

, Hungarians, and

Rusyn Rusyn may refer to: * Rusyns, Rusyn people, an East Slavic people ** Pannonian Rusyns, Pannonian Rusyn people, a branch of Rusyn people ** Lemkos, a branch of Rusyn (or Ukrainian) people ** Boykos, a branch of Rusyn (or Ukrainian) people * Rusyn l ...

Ukrainians Ukrainians ( uk, Українці, Ukraintsi, ) are an East Slavs, East Slavic ethnic group native to Ukraine. They are the seventh-largest nation in Europe. The native language of the Ukrainians is Ukrainian language, Ukrainian. The majority ...

maintained associations to promote their own interests. The ''Recognized Hungarian Baptist Union of Romania'' was founded at Salonta in October 1920. The ''Unrecognized Hungarian Baptist Union of Romania'' was formed around the same time in Nuşfalău. In 1922, the ''Recognized Hungarian Baptist Union'' associated with the ''Baptist Union of Romania'' as a department within it, and also joined the

Baptist World Alliance The Baptist World Alliance (BWA) is the largest international Baptist organization with an estimated 51 million people in 2022 with 246 member bodies in 128 countries and territories. A voluntary association of Baptist churches, the BWA account ...

. The two Hungarian Baptist groups united to become the ''Hungarian Baptist Convention of Romania'' in 1935. Government instability and change brought varying challenges to the Baptists of Romania, especially from 1955 to 1989, under the

Communist regime A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state that is administered and governed by a communist party guided by Marxism–Leninism. Marxism–Leninism was the state ideology of the Soviet Union, the Cominte ...

. During this time believers were harassed, churches closed, ministers threatened, and educational work prohibited. In 1948, the ''Hungarian Baptist Convention'' was closed. The ''Union of the Hungarian Baptist Churches of Romania'' was organized in

Cluj-Napoca ; hu, kincses város) , official_name=Cluj-Napoca , native_name= , image_skyline= , subdivision_type1 = Counties of Romania, County , subdivision_name1 = Cluj County , subdivision_type2 = Subdivisions of Romania, Status , subdivision_name2 ...

on February 3, 1990. In 1996, the name "Union" was changed to "Convention". According to Baptist World Alliance statistics, the Convention of the Hungarian Baptist Churches has 8,321 members in 253 churches. The convention operates as a "sister" denomination to the

and is a member of the

European Baptist Federation The European Baptist Federation (EBF) is a federation of 59 Baptist associations and is one of six regional fellowships in the Baptist World Alliance. The headquarters is in Amsterdam, Netherlands. History The EBF was founded in Ruschlikon, Swit ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Convention Of The Hungarian Baptist Churches Of Romania Hungarians in Romania Evangelicalism in Romania Religion in Transylvania Religious organizations established in 1875 Baptist denominations in Europe