The history of our church

According to the data of the natioanl census there were

Calvinist people in Salgótarján.

Most of them moved here from other reagions of the country ( Szabolcs county, Trans-Tisza region, Highlands etc.) because of working possibilities, and since then they have been the minority in Nógrád county and in our town.

The idea of establishing a church in Salgótarján is attributed to Imre Szabó, who was the town clerk of Zagyva. He was born in Losonc, so he knew the traditions of the Calvinist church. Being enthusiastic about these traditions he turned to the office of the dean of the diocese in Drégelypalánk.

The church office - totally accepting the idea, making sure that the plan is right and its execution is possible - held the establishing assembly of the branch church at the community hall on the 27th of May in 1901.

They elected Gedeon Nagy the dean of Diósjenő to be the president of the branch church, Imre Szabó to be the janitor, Mihály Koós to be the clerk, János Erős from Inászó, József Faragó from Losonc, János Katona and József Csikász from Salgótarján to be presbyters.

From 1901 to 1906 there were services two times a year: at christmas and at pentecost.

In 1906 Béla Sörös pastor from Losonc undertook to hold services six times a year. Till 1916 the branch church didn't have its own independent pastor. István Németh Calvinist Bishop of Komárom appopinted Albert Bereczky religious educator to be assistant pastor - who later became a famous bishop - and served here for three years among fairly hard circumstances. During this period the services were held at the Lutheran church. Next came Dezső Szabó pastor, who after twenty years of service, on the 20th of April in 1941, left and went to Berhida in Veszprém county. Dezső Szabó also took part activly in the building of the church and the vicarage besides the pastorial duties.

On the 18th of April in 1922 the borough council of the Calvinist church was extended, the principal janitor became Jenő B. Liptay and remaind in this function till his death on the 1st of April in 1928. On the 11th of April in 1922 Dezső Szabó pastor and Jenő B. Liptay principal janitor - in the name of the Calvinist Pastorial Office - applied for land for the church and the vicarage from the town at the area of the animal market. The leadership of the town - on the 29th of May 1922 - decided about dividing the new area into plots and accepted in principle the Calvinist church's apply for building a church.

István Németh bishop declared the bracnh church's becoming a parent church on the 10th of May in 1924.

The local congregation initiated a nation wide saving for the benefit of building the church after the proposal of doctor Géza Antal Calvinist bishop, who arrived to the town. The minister of education transfered 30.000 pengő for the cause.

On the 13th of May in 1927. the Calvinist church applied for the plot of the closed down slaughterhouse to be able to build the church and the vicarage. On the 15th of July in 1927 the town gave the area for free to the church, on the 3rd of December in 1927. the church's leader janitor asked for the building permit. The building of the church started in the November of 1928, its consecration was on the 24th of November in 1929. On the 18th of July in 1934 the two bells of the church was inaugurated. The war and the years after it put the congreagation to extraordinary tests. The pastor of the congregation was István Szűcs from 1941 to 1944, Ákos Czikora and doctor János Vrannay from 1944 to 1948.

A significant event occured on the 11th of July in 1948: Zoltán Tildy the president of the republic visited Salgótarján and he took part int he inauguration of the church's two bells together with Ernő Mihályi minister and Ágoston Szklabán shireman. The bells were donated by the government to replace the ones taken during the war. The service after the inauguration was held by Elemér Győri Transdanubian Calvinist bishop.

Jenő Liptay agricultural engineer, son of Jenő B. Liptay, who had arrived home from the war imprisonment in 1947 also took part in the event. At this time he was the janitor and filled this office till 1956.

The time of the inflation had ruined firstly financially the church; then the administrative methods of the '50s made the life of the congregation nearly impossible. The congreagation - whose numbers decreased and only the faithfull creeders remained in the church after the war and the next two decades - gave proof of its generosity more times during the past decades.

The pastors of the congregation were:

Sándor Bassa 1948-1971

Tamás Végh 1971-1975

Gábor Isépy 1975-1988

Ferenc Égető 1988-1996

From 1971 the number of the people visiting the church have been increasing by leapsand bounds, the church's financial problems decreased , and even though it remained a small congregation in Salgótarján, yet a vivid religious life unfolded.

Form 1988 the religious life of the church-members has become stronger in every respect.

The pastor of the congregation since 1996 has been Judit Németh. During her service the whole renovation of the church has been realised between 2000 and 2004. Also the renovation of the vicarage has taken place during this period.

The beginning of these operations was started by an extraordinary event. On the 14th of July in 2001, in a great squall, the rooster of the church soard down from the top of the steeple. It barely touched the roof and the snowgrate and landed on the grass in front of the steeple, and it did so during the night so no accident occured.

The congregation planned to replace the rooster and to exchange the steeple's slates, but the wrong condition of the building became visible: falling plaster, cracks of the walls, the aging of the slates and the tin. And because of the leaks the condition of the building had to be surveyed. On the basis of Sándor Klenóczky's architectural and static expert, a saving was started among the members of the congregation and applications were made.

The superb repairing of the rooster was done in the workshop of László Berkovics in Mátranovák. In 2001 the steeple got a new cover, the rooster was put back; these works were done by the H+N Partnership. After this the building's external renovation took place ( the slates became red, the walls white, the doors and the windows green), then the painting of the interior happened in 2004: the columns and the edges are dazzling white, while the walls in between are white. The financial funds - nearly 15 million forint - of the renovation were provided by the winning tenders and from the donation of the congregation.

Also parts of the Calvinist Church in Salgótarján are the calvinist inhabitants of 55 villages which are spread on a very big area.

According to the data of the census in 2001 the population of Nógrád county is 220.261, from which calvinists are 5.861 people. The population of Salgótarján is 44.964, from which calvinists are 1.323 people.