HUNGARIAN CHURCH’S ASSOCIATE ORDAINED

During a worship service of the Danubian District of the Reformed Church in Hungary (RCH), Szabina Sztojka (pictured far left) was ordained as Minister of Word and Sacrament.

Szabina is serving as Associate Minister at St Columba’s, Budapest, which is a congregation both of the Church of Scotland (International Presbytery) and the RCH.

In the Church of Scotland, ordination is linked to a first call, but in the RCH it takes place after the extensive requirements of ordination are met, including years of full-time study, and an internship year in a congregation. Szabina Sztojka’s internship requirement was fulfilled at St Columba’s.

Her path to ordination has been challenging, including a fire at the dormitory for Theological Faculty of Károli Gáspár Univerisity in January 2019, in which one person died, and the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020 and 2021.

At the service, a total of 36 women and men were ordained, and during the service Bishop Zoltán Balog placed upon each one the distinctive robe of the Hungarian Reformed Church.

The Rev Aaron Stevens, minister of St Columba’s, said: “Szabina’s pastoral presence and preaching gifts have been appreciated by the St Columba’s congregation ever since she offered pulpit supply in 2018. During the pandemic, her flexibility and resourcefulness have been blessings. As the minister at St Columba’s, I might be considered Szabina’s mentor and line manager, but I learn a great deal from the way she brings her true self into her pastoral work. It’s exciting to see how her outreach among international students in Budapest is bearing fruit. Working with Szabina is simply a joy.”