Draft:Evangelical Christian Church of Augsburg Confession in Serbia

The Evangelical Christian Church of the Augsburg Confession in Serbia (Evangelistička Hrišćanska Crkva Augsburškog Veroispovedanja u Srbiji; Ágostai Hitvallású Evangélikus Keresztyén Egyház Szerbiában) is a Lutheran denomination that originated from the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hungary. Historically, the Hungarian-speaking church in Serbia also provided services in Serbian. The Church in Serbia left the Hungarian Church in 1918, after the end of World War I. It was originally called the German Evangelical Christian Church of Augsburg Confession in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, but after WW2 it dropped 'German' from its name.

The denomination has around 10,000 members. It is the second largest Lutheran denomination in Serbia, after the Slovak Evangelical Church.

History
Lutherans in the Kingdom of Hungary appeared as soon as the Reformation started. First Church in Délvidék appeared as early as only 30 years after the Reformation. Hungary was then about 90% Protestant. Most of the Protestant community was Reformed, with Lutherans making up the second-largest group. After the Counter-Reformation, Hungary again became mostly Catholic, with a large Protestant minority.

Hungarian Lutherans in Vojvodina (aka Délvidék) were part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Hungary, until the end of World War I and the collapse of the K.und K. in 1918. Many churches in the former territories now found themselves in new countries, and sought to gain independence from the Church in Hungary. These new churches included the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Slovakia (then Czechoslovakia), the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Slovenia, the Evangelical Church in the Republic of Croatia, the Slovak Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Serbia, and the German Evangelical Christian Church of the Augsburg Confession in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia.

The German Evangelical Christian Church of the Augsburg Confession in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia was the non-Slavic Church in Yugoslavia. Hungarians and Wends (Slovenes, even though they were Slavs) were also part of it, they only gained independence after WW2.

After World War II, the Evangelical Christian Church of the Augsburg Confession in FNRJ was declared independent. After the reforms of 1948 the Church found itself ,alongside other Christians, being persecuted in the newly communist country. Hungarian Lutherans continued to be independent until 1958.

In 1958, the Lutheran World Federation expressed their desire that all Lutheran churches in Yugoslavia unite to become a larger and stronger denomination that could give stronger resistance to the communist government. Secretary of the department for the minority churches in LWF, Mogens V. Zeuthen, visited the headquarters of the Lutheran churches and expressed the expectations of the LWF in 1958. On the 20th of April 1958 the general Synod was held, and the bishop Juraj Struharik and senior/dean Milan Štrba were present as gests. There both the Slovak bishop and the Hungarian superintendent Sostarec made speeches about how spiriturally they were united as brethren in Christ and presented the plan of the LWF to the participants.

Zeuthen stated afterwards: "There exists an endless amount of problems, but the Yugoslav churches have in the spiritural and administrative view made partially big step forward".

After that bishop Struharik according to the article 5 declared that the Evangelical Christian Church of the Augsburg Confession in FNRJ is to join the Slovak Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in FNRJ. The controversial part was the use of the word "join" instead of "merge", which the Hungarians expected. Then the Hungarian seniorship/diocese was established as the part of Slovak Evangelical Church. That was not the intent of the LWF, but that all churches should merge. Few Lutheran congregations from Croatia that were Slovak-speaking joined too in Bačka and Srem dioceses.

Although the Slovaks recognised the Hungarian diocese, the Hungarians never made an official statement about joining the Slovak church, so they claimed they never joined. At the same time, they were deleted from the list of members of the LWF and all financial and material help they received was through the Slovak church and the bishop.

In 1997, the Synod of the Slovak Evangelical Church again meantiones the Hungarian diocese : "Regarding the Hungarian diocese, they still have not declared weather they joined our Church or not, as one of our dioceses, or not. Numerous times dean Arpád Dolinszky has been called upon to give us their stance, but until now we have not yet received any answers. Now, the leadership of our Church has received the call from the secretary for Europe of the Lutheran World Federation, dr. Tibor Görög for a meeting in Budapest, where the decision will be made for this question. This has to be resolved until [next] Synod."

In 1998, the 'Hungarian diocese' made a statement declaring that they were not the part of the Slovak Evangelical Church.

Organisation
The Church is organised in congregations, each having two pastors, and a superintendent as the head of the Church, currently Gabor Dolinszky. The Church has 20 congregations, all of which are in Serbia. Its headquarters are in Subotica. The denomination has around 10,000 members.

Recognition and relations with other Churches
The Evangelical Christian Church of the Augsburg Confession in Serbia is not recognised by the LWF, the World Council of Churches, nor any other interantional church organisations. It is recognised by the Republic of Serbia as one of the seven traditional Churches in Serbia, and by the Hungarian government, from which it obtains funding.

Literature

 * A Suboticai ágostai hitvallású evangélikus egyház tanácsi jegyzőkönyve 1903-1961 (Zapisnik crkvenog veća Evangeličke Crkve Augsburškog veroispovedanja u Subotici 1903-1961) (390 str.)
 * Pravila Saveza Lutheranskih Crkava u Federativnoj Narodnoj Republici Jugoslaviji, Zagreb, 5. aprila 1954.
 * Ročenka Slovenskej Evanjelickej A.V. Krestanskej Cirkvi vo FLR Juhoslávii, 1958. Zápisnica Synody, IV. Zpráva biskupa a jej pojednávanie, Vydalo Združenie Slov. Evanj. A.V. Knazov vo FLR Juhoslávii 1958. Vytlačila knihtlačiaren Hlas Ludu v Petrovci (106 str.)
 * Zapisnik Sinoda Evangeličke Hrišćanske Crkve Augsburškog veroispovedanja u Srbiji – Vojvodini, održan 17. maja 1998. godine, u Subotici