What if I told you that the newest sacral building in Soroksár is a Reformed church completed between 2018 and 2020? Yes it is the Soroksár-Újtelepi Református templom. Protestant churches are a recent addition to this centuries-old town now part of Budapest’s 23rd district.
Let’s delve into the story of the Soroksár-Újtelepi Református templom. Soroksár was largely unpopulated in the Middle Ages. After the Ottoman occupation, Catholic farmers of German descent tended the fertile fields. Transportation infrastructure changed life drastically. Factories and workshops moved in accelerating urbanization.
Following World War I many Reformed faithful moved here from the Great Plain. They came from areas lost because of the Treaty of Trianon. Soroksár became part of Budapest in the 1950s. It was listed as the 20th district with Pesterzsébet. In 1994, Soroksár became Budapest’s 23rd District. A new area began to grow known as Újtelep. A Roman Catholic Church was built here between 2000 and 2002.
The Reformed congregation in Soroksár was led by assistant pastor József Galambos from the late 1930s. Services were held in the primary school. The congregation formed an independent local church in 1939. This split from the Csepel Reformed Congregation. Plans to build a church were formulated.
The congregation received land on the market square. Bálint Szeghalmy designed the church in a style reminiscent of the Reformed Churches of Kalotaszeg. Construction never began due to World War II. After the conflict the designated land was unavailable.
After the war the congregation received a plot under 11 Hősök Square. The house was converted into a parsonage. In November 1950 a church without a tower was completed.
From the early 1940s József Galambos held services in private homes. He was the first Pastor of Soroksár. The congregation purchased a small house at 70 Alsóhatár Road in Újtelep in 1957. It served as a worship space, a classroom and a common room. Pastor István Kádár Csongor continued preaching. He assessed the possibilities of building a church.
In 2004 pastor Gábor Bácsai was commissioned to unite the local community. In 2007 György Péterffy led the building of the church. The foundation stone was laid on 27 September 2009. Bishop István Szabó of the Danubian Church District attended.
In 2010 the congregation sold the house in Újtelek. They used the money for the new church. Construction began in 2011. The new church building includes a liturgical assembly hall and a parsonage. The congregation gathered in the council chamber of the local Catholic congregation. The Reformed congregation of Újtelep was recognized as a mission congregation in 2012.
With government support, construction resumed in 2017. The foundation stone documents were moved to the church entrance in 2018. Clerk Pastor László Kiss gave a sermon saying it must be a bridgehead of God’s power.
Tamás Rüll of the MAKONA group designed the church. The steeple was placed on the tower in 2018. With the Star of Bethlehem it climbs 35 meters. The Soroksár-Újtelep Reformed Congregation opened on Dinnyehegyi Road in 2020. The inscription proclaims: “Built to proclaim the glory of Jesus Christ. Acts 4,12”.
The bell in the tower weighs 140 kg. Miklós Gombos cast it in Őrbottyán in 2018. One side shows the Hungarian coat of arms. It says: “Commissioned by the Budapest-Soroksár-Újtelep Reformed Mission Congregation for the 500-year anniversary of the Reformation, 2017.” The other side shows the Lamb of God with the inscription “SOLI DEO GLORIA.”
Bishop István Szabó Bogárdi consecrated the church on 5 September 2020. Five Lutheran pastors and the parish priest of the Soroksár-Újtelep Church of Our Lady of Fatima also blessed the building.
The new Reformed Church of Soroksár is a significant sacral building. It relays traditions to the faithful. Its tower calls the faithful and symbolizes the Reformed Church in Hungary.