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32-554: The Transylvanian and Hungarian Unitarians represent the only branch of Unitarianism not to have adopted a congregationalist polity , and remains quasi- episcopal ; the Irish Non-subscribing Presbyterian Church , a distinct body closely related to Unitarianism, has a presbyterian structure . The Unitarian Church of Transylvania is administered by a bishop and two Curators-General, being divided into five Archpriestships . Since 2021, its bishop

64-474: A plurality of elders (also known in some congregations as shepherds, bishops, or pastors) who are sometimes assisted in the administration of various works by deacons . Elders are generally seen as responsible for the spiritual welfare of the congregation, while deacons are seen as responsible for the non-spiritual needs of the church. Deacons serve under the supervision of the elders, and are often assigned to direct specific ministries. Successful service as

96-579: A Cuman's hands. Further murals in the region are to be found at Unitarian churches in Mugeni , Crăciunel , and smaller ones in Rugănești and Cristuru Secuiesc . Congregationalist polity Congregational polity , or congregationalist polity , often known as congregationalism , is a system of ecclesiastical polity in which every local church (congregation) is independent, ecclesiastically sovereign, or " autonomous ". Its first articulation in writing

128-525: A deacon is often seen as preparation for the eldership. Elders and deacons are chosen by the congregation based on the qualifications found in Timothy 3 and Titus 1. Congregations look for elders who have a mature enough understanding of scripture to enable them to supervise the minister and to teach, as well as to perform governance functions. In lieu of willing men who meet these qualifications, congregations are sometimes overseen by an unelected committee of

160-587: A growing number of nondenominational churches, which are often congregationalist in their governance. Although autonomous, like minded congregations may enter into voluntary associations with other congregations, sometimes called conventions, denominations, or associations. Congregationalism is distinguished from episcopal polity which is governance by a hierarchy of bishops , and is also distinct from presbyterian polity in which higher assemblies of congregational representatives can exercise considerable authority over individual congregations. Congregationalism

192-615: A letter to Bishop Jozsef Ferencz of the Transylvanian Unitarian Church inviting the leaders of the church to the first International Association for Religious Freedom (IARF) conference in 1900. With the exception of 1920, Transylvanian Unitarian leaders have been present at all IARF congresses, and, in May 1975, Communist authorities allowed it to welcome the IARF's executive committee in the city of Cluj-Napoca. In 1994,

224-639: A very similar ecclesiology , refusing to permit outside control or oversight of the affairs of the local church. Ecclesiastical government is congregational rather than denominational. Churches of Christ purposefully have no central headquarters, councils, or other organizational structure above the local church level. Rather, the independent congregations are a network with each congregation participating at its own discretion in various means of service and fellowship with other congregations. Churches of Christ are linked by their shared commitment to restoration principles. Congregations are generally overseen by

256-573: Is especially strong in Dârjiu, Atid ( Etéd ), Cristuru Secuiesc ( Székelykeresztúr ), Feliceni ( Felsőboldogfalva ), Inlăceni ( Énlaka ), and Mugeni ( Bögöz ), where Unitarians make up a large majority of the population. All of these localities are situated in the southwestern corner of Harghita County , except for Sighișoara which is located immediately outside of that area in the Southeastern corner of Mureș County . The Unitarian Church

288-626: Is held as a first consideration when a church makes a decision to grant or decline financial contributions to such agencies, which are legally external and separate from the congregations they serve. These practices also find currency among non-denominational fundamentalist or charismatic fellowships, many of which derive from Baptist origins, culturally if not theologically. Most Southern Baptist and National Baptist congregations, by contrast, generally relate more closely to external groups such as mission agencies and educational institutions than do those of independent persuasion. However, they adhere to

320-584: Is home to a 13th-century fortified church , later reformed as Unitarian, which is on UNESCO 's World Heritage List . Murals, dating back to the Roman Catholic period, show King Ladislaus I of Hungary 's legend: Cumans broke into the Kingdom of Hungary ; Duke Ladislaus, along with his cousin King Solomon , rode against them and freed a girl believed to be daughter of a Hungarian nobleman from

352-646: Is no church other than the local church, and denominations are in variance to Scripture." These Christian traditions use forms of congregational polity. Congregationalism is a Protestant tradition with roots in the Puritan and Independent movements. In congregational government, the covenanted congregation exists prior to its officers, and as such the members are equipped to call and dismiss their ministers without oversight from any higher ecclesiastical body. Their churches ordinarily have at least one pastor, but may also install ruling elders. Statements of polity in

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384-684: Is not limited only to organization of Christian church congregations. The principles of congregationalism have been inherited by the Unitarian Universalist Association and the Canadian Unitarian Council . The term congregational polity describes a form of church governance that is based on the local congregation. Each local congregation is independent and self-supporting, governed by its own members. Some band into loose voluntary associations with other congregations that share similar beliefs (e.g.,

416-492: Is represented by a distinct section. In addition, it has two high school-level theological educational institutions. According to the results of the 2002 census, there are 66,846 Romanian citizens of the Unitarian faith (0.3% of the total population). Church officials place the number of believers at 80,000-100,000. Of the total Hungarian minority, Unitarians represent 4.55%, being the third denominational group after members of

448-845: Is the Cambridge Platform of 1648 in New England . Major Protestant Christian traditions that employ congregationalism include Baptist churches, the Congregational Methodist Church , and Congregational churches known by the Congregationalist name and having descended from the Independent Reformed wing of the Anglo-American Puritan movement of the 17th century. More recent generations have witnessed

480-830: Is the Rev. István Kovács. The Church, which uses Hungarian as the liturgical language, also endorses and teaches a catechism . Together with the Calvinist Reformed Church and the two Lutheran churches of Romania (the Evangelical Lutheran Church and the Evangelical Church of Augustan Confession ), the Unitarian community runs the Protestant Theological Institute of Cluj , wherein Unitarianism

512-662: The Congregational Methodist Church , which retains Wesleyan-Arminian theology but adopts congregationalist polity as a distinctive. Churches of Christ from the beginning have maintained no formal organization structures larger than the local congregations and no official journals or vehicles declaring sanctioned positions. Consensus views do, however, often emerge through the influence of opinion leaders who express themselves in journals, at lectureships, or at area preacher meetings and other gatherings. Mih%C3%A1ly Lombard de Szent%C3%A1brah%C3%A1m Mihály Lombard de Szentábrahám ( Városfalva , 1683 – Kolozsvár , March 30, 1758)

544-500: The Episcopal Baptists that have an episcopal system . Independent Baptist churches have no formal organizational structure above the level of the local congregation. More generally among Baptists , a variety of parachurch agencies and evangelical educational institutions may be supported generously or not at all, depending entirely upon the local congregation's customs and predilections. Usually doctrinal conformity

576-491: The John Sigismund Unitarian Academy , at the time when the great-great grandson of Fausto Sozzini , Andrzej Wiszowaty Jr. was a teacher there. This biographical article about a Hungarian religious figure is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about an individual bishop is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This Unitarianism -related article

608-681: The Reformed Church in Romania (47.10%) and Roman Catholics (41.20%). Since 1700, the Unitarian Church has had 125 parishes — in 2006, there were 110 Unitarian priests and 141 places of worship in Romania. The vast majority of church adherents live in Transylvania, mostly between Sighișoara ( Segesvár ) and Odorheiu Secuiesc ( Székelyudvarhely ), more or less around Dârjiu ( Székelyderzs ). The Unitarian church

640-690: The Union of Transylvania with Romania at the end of World War I , Unitarian congregations were established in regions of the Old Kingdom : the first Unitarian church in Bucharest was founded in 1933 (its building was later demolished). During World War II, when Hungary ruled Northern Transylvania , the church, to prove its devotion to the official state ideology, engaged in anti-Semitic activity, despite having previously accepted many converts of Jewish origin. American and British Unitarians became aware of

672-1086: The Willow Creek Association and the Unitarian Universalist Association ). Others join "conventions", such as the Southern Baptist Convention , the National Baptist Convention or the American Baptist Churches USA (formerly the Northern Baptist Convention). These conventions generally provide stronger ties between congregations, including some doctrinal direction and pooling of financial resources. Congregations that belong to associations and conventions are still independently governed. Most non-denominational churches are organized along congregationalist lines. Many do not see these voluntary associations as " denominations ", because they "believe that there

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704-523: The priesthood of all believers . No special titles are used for preachers or ministers that would identify them as clergy . Churches of Christ emphasize that there is no distinction between "clergy" and " laity " and that every member has a gift and a role to play in accomplishing the work of the church. Methodists who disagreed with the episcopal polity of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South left their mother church to form

736-654: The IARF European Conference was held in the same location. The Transylvanian Unitarian Church is also a founding member of the International Council of Unitarians and Universalists . In 2016, the deputy bishop announced his support for same-sex marriage . In 2018, the governing body of the church voted to only bless marriages recognized by the state, presently only heterosexual marriages, but did vote to allow individual members to express their own opinions on marriage. The locality of Dârjiu

768-485: The congregation's men. While the early Restoration Movement had a tradition of itinerant preachers rather than "located Preachers", during the 20th century a long-term, formally trained congregational minister became the norm among Churches of Christ. Ministers are understood to serve under the oversight of the elders. While the presence of a long-term professional minister has sometimes created "significant de facto ministerial authority" and led to conflict between

800-911: The congregational tradition called "platforms". These include the Savoy Confession 's platform, the Cambridge Platform , and the Saybrook Platform . Denominations in the congregational tradition include the UCC , NACCC , CCCC , and EFCC . Denominations in the tradition support but do not govern their constituent members. Most Baptists hold that no denominational or ecclesiastical organization has inherent authority over an individual Baptist church. Churches can properly relate to each other under this polity only through voluntary cooperation, never by any sort of coercion. Furthermore, this Baptist polity calls for freedom from governmental control. Exceptions to this local form of local governance include

832-808: The dispersed communities of Polish Brethren in the Netherlands and Lithuania. Andrzej Wiszowaty Jr. , great-great-grandson of Fausto Sozzini , was one of the Polish exiles who taught at the Unitarian College in Cluj-Napoca, in the period in the 1730s when the church was reorganized and strengthened by Mihály Lombard de Szentábrahám , author of the church's official statement of faith, the Summa Universae Theologiae Christianae secundum Unitarios . Following

864-559: The eastern Transylvanian Székely community in large numbers. The Church attracted suspicion from all other established religions, Roman Catholic as well as Protestant , with both camps deeming it heretical . After Dávid's imprisonment and 1579 death in custody, the institution entered a period of decline. The church in Transylvania received many refugees following the expulsion of the Socinian Polish Brethren from Poland on July 20, 1658, and maintained contact with

896-517: The minister and the elders, the eldership has remained the "ultimate locus of authority in the congregation". There is a small group within the Churches of Christ which oppose a single preacher and, instead, rotate preaching duties among qualified elders (this group tends to overlap with groups which oppose Sunday School and also have only one cup to serve the Lord's Supper). Churches of Christ hold to

928-504: The spring of 1712. On 1 May 1713 he was the student of Leiden University. Later, from the 5th of November, 1714 he was enrolled at Odera-Frankfurt University learning philosophy and theology. He returned home on the 18th of August, 1715. First he was the tutor of the sons of Sámuel Homoródszentmártoni Bíró , later from the 27th of February the professor of the Kolozsvári Unitarian School. In 1720 he became director of

960-787: The survival of the Unitarian Church in Transylvania following the visit of Alexander Farkas to Pennsylvania in 1831 and publication of his Account of the Unitarians of Transylvania , which was communicated in Latin to the Secretary of the British and Foreign Unitarian Association and published in The Unitarian advocate and religious miscellany in 1832. On 5 June 1899 the American Unitarian Association sent

992-607: Was a Hungarian Unitarian bishop. He re-laid the foundations of the Unitarian Church in Transylvania during a period of harassment until the accession of Joseph II and the return of an era of tolerance. During the period 1718-1720 the settlements were struck by famine and plague. He was preacher for the unitarian members at the Nagyszeben Committee. Here he got acquainted with Sámuel Homoródszentmártoni Bíró who initiated and funded his foreign trips from

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1024-560: Was first recognized by the Edict of Torda , issued by the Transylvanian Diet under its Unitarian Prince John II Sigismund Zápolya (January 1568), and was first led by Ferenc Dávid (a former Calvinist bishop, who had begun preaching the new doctrine in 1566). Early on, the Unitarian Church had notable successes: it included 425 parishes, made use of the monumental St. Michael's Church in Cluj-Napoca, and attracted members of

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