The church life in Debrecen and in its surroundings

Debrecen was first mentioned in the reports of the chapter in Várad in 1235. Obviously the location had been part of the Roman-Catholic Bishopric in Várad from the very beginnings. The Gothic Saint Andrew Church built in the thirteenth century used to be one of the biggest church buildings in Tiszántúl. The building completely burnt down twice, first in 1564 then in 1802. In its place the present Great Church was built in Neoclassic Style that had become the emblem of the town.

In the religious life of Debrecen the first turn was in the 1530s. The then landlord Bálint Enyingi Török brought here the priest called Bálint who had a discussion with a Catholic priest called Ambrosius. In the heat of the debate the Catholic priest broke down a branch of box-thorn (box-thorn bush: Lycium sp. lat.,) and he stuck the branch into the ground and said laughing: „It will be a real religion as soon as this branch grows into a tree!” And it really grew into a tree and the Reformed creed became the most flourishing religion in Debrecen. This is the box-thorn tree that can be seen on the corner of Múzeum street and Kálvin square even today. However, the tree itself is only about 250 years and religious dispute took place 450 years ago.

The town became the centre of the Reformed community not only in the surroundings but also in Hungary very soon. In the heat of a debate a reformer Ferenc Dávid who lived in the sixteenth century first called the town “Calvinist Rome”.

The school of the town has been working reflecting the spirit of the Reformed creed in its present place behind the Great Church since 1538 and that is unique in the Protestant public education. This establishment that met innumerable vicissitudes is the Debrecen Reformed College where there was education at primary, secondary and tertiary level, similarly to other educational establishments of the Reformed Church. The library of the College is the biggest church collection. Numerous visitors both from Hungary and abroad come to see the exhibitions of its museum.

In Debrecen only people of Reformed religion were allowed to live until 1715. Then a Habsburg patent obliged the town to allow Catholics to settle. In that era efforts made for forming locations with population of homogenous religion could be experienced quite often. Even at the end of the eighteenth century inhabitants of other denominations were represented in only a few percents. This situation changed from the second half of the nineteenth century when in the town grown in number of population not only Reformed people but also Catholics settled in great number. In addition, Evangelical people, Israelites, Greek Catholics and various free churches also appeared in Debrecen.

Today Debrecen is traditionally the seat of the bishop of the biggest Reformed diocese. In addition, it has been the seat of the Catholic bishop of the diocese Debrecen-Níregyháza since 1993.
The Bishopric of the Greek Catholic Church situated in Hajdúdorog has an important part in the region. This denomination has been established from Greek Orthodox people in the seventeenth century who agreed the authority of the Roman Catholic Pope.

Based on the census returns in 2001, from 211.034 inhabitants 135.835 people declared they are part of a denomination. Among them, there are 60% Reformed people, 24% Roman Catholics, 13% Greek Catholics. The remaining three percent is divided among the other denominations.

The structure of denomination in Hajdúság (Balmazújváros, Hajdúböszörmény, Hajdúhadház, Hajdúnánás, Hajdúszoboszló, Hajdúszovát, Vámospércs) follows the ratios in Debrecen except for Hajdúdorog. The historic church buildings of various denominations are a crucial part in the architecture of the region. They can be visited permanently or subject to a previous notice.