The Church of Togetherness

The Church of Togetherness of Pesterzsébet/Budapest

One of Budapest’s Reformed congregations, the Pesterzsébet Szabó-telepi Reformed Church Community. It has been an independent church community since 1943, before that it had been operating for several years as the “Szabó-telepi church circle” of the Pesterzsébet-central Church Community. The congregation holds numerous regular events besides the Sunday worship services, from children’s activities to youth hours and adult bible classes.
How did the idea of a new church come up?
The congregation already wanted to build a church during World War II, for which they had their own resources, but the troubled times only allowed the foundation to be laid on the Bácska square in Erzsébet. The war and the political situation that followed consumed the community’s wealth and made it impossible to build the church. Thus, the congregation has been holding its events for 70 years in a family house converted from a former medical office. The house’s deteriorating technical and static condition, however, was unsuitable in the long run to accommodate the worship services and the many other congregational events. They wanted to renovate their existing building, but there was no opportunity for that. Following this, the leadership of the 20th district decided that a new Reformed church would be built in Pesterzsébet, on Mátyás király square, and also that Makovecz Imre, Kossuth and Ybl Miklós award-winning architect, should be commissioned to design it.
Földesi Gyula, Member of Parliament and Börzsönyi János, pastor, visited Makovecz Imre in the spring of 2011. The preparatory phase of the design began, after the site visit, the Master made sketches. The architect entrusted one of his students and colleagues, Tamás Dósa Papp, with continuing the work. The master did not live to see the design assignment following the regulatory plan and the site development. The plans were prepared by the architect Tamás Dósa Papp using Imre Makovecz's sketches created in the spring of 2011.

As a result of a wide social cohesion, construction began in 2019.
The Pesterzsébet’s Church of Togetherness was consecrated on September 26, 2021. After Balog Zoltán bishop’s sermon at the church consecration, Viktor Orbán prime minister also greeted the congregation.

The building complex consists of two main parts: one is the main building with the tower containing the church space plus the small rooms, congregational hall and youth room, the other is the ground floor attic part behind it, connected to it, where the pastor’s apartment is located.

Client: Pesterzsébet Szabó-telep Reformed Congregation
First sketches: Imre Makovecz (1935-2011)
Responsible designer: Tamás Dósa Papp
Statics: László Pongor
Contractor: KÉSZ Kft. - construction manager: László Lehoczki
Technical inspector: Gábor Nagy - ABÉTA Kft.