Headstone of the 17th Meeting of Reformed Secondary Schools of the Carpathian Basin
Statue, monument, memorial plaque
The Czeglédi Péter Reformed High School in Léva hosted the 17th Meeting of the Reformed High Schools of the Carpathian Basin between 8 and 12 July 2012. Nearly 180 representatives from 38 institutions participated in the event. At the opening service on Sunday, Zsuzsanna Répás, Hungary’s Deputy State Secretary responsible for national policy, gave a ceremonial welcome speech, addressing primarily young people living in minority communities. In her opinion, they are in a much more difficult situation than their counterparts in the motherland. “They are not in an easy situation in any respect. Very often these schools are in scattered areas. They have to face all the problems of scattered communities,” she said in her ceremonial welcome speech, adding that financial problems are increasingly affecting not only educational institutions but also church institutions, and state support has not been clearly resolved either. “There are many difficulties to overcome, which is why I consider it important to have such meetings where teachers and students can come together,” he added. According to László Fazekas, bishop of the Slovak Reformed Christian Church, the existence and survival of the 7 Reformed educational institutions in the Highlands has been uncertain both in the past and today due to state normative funding. He pointed out that state schools with larger numbers can apply for state support from several sources, while smaller church schools and institutions only receive normative support. “Thus, with great effort and with considerable hardship, we have maintained and are maintaining the school institutions of our church to this day,” the bishop said. ; During the four-day meeting, the Reformed church districts of the Carpathian Basin introduced themselves, and a presentation was given on the history of the Bars diocese and Reformed church art. The participants also commemorated the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Transdanubian Reformed Church District. The meeting of the Reformed secondary schools of the Carpathian Basin ended with the erection of a headstone, a closing statement and a church service. ; The headstone is located in the courtyard of the Reformed pastoral office in Léva.