Our Transylvania partnership with Unitarians in Karácsonyfalva
Since 1990 the Unitarian Society of Northampton and Florence has had a partnership with the Unitarian Church in the village of Homoródkarácsonyfalva, in Transylvania. Unitarians in Transylvania are ethnic Hungarians who have maintained the culture and language of their native Hungary. Unitarian churches have been part of the Transylvanian way of life since the middle of the 16th century.
Over the years several groups of congregation members have traveled to Karácsonyfalva (short for Homoródkarácsonyfalva), developing personal relationships and learning firsthand about “our” village and about the Unitarian culture there. We have exchanged letters, cards, emails and pictures, and more recently some of us have even begun to communicate via Facebook and Zoom.
Mihály and Enikő Benédek, the ministerial couple from our partner church's village, honored us with a visit in the spring of 2010. Our former minister, Reveverend Janet C. Bush, and her husband Booker Bush, received wonderful return hospitality in June of 2011.
In 2015, we hosted Agnes, the daughter of our Minister and his wife, and her chaperone, Ildico, to visit our congregation. They participated in a service and taught us how to sing a hymn in Hungarian. Members of our congregation took them on local trips, including a visit to New York City and a New England beach. Agnes, who was just finishing her education at the time, later married and gave birth to a son. We enjoy keeping in touch with her and her parents.
During the summer of 2019, seven members of the Youth Group traveled to Transylvania to learn about the history of their faith and connect with our partner church and village. This was the third Youth Group trip to our Partner Church.
On May 4th 2025 our partner church minister, Rev. Mihály Benédek, and his wife, Enikő, joined USNF via Zoom for our 200th Anniversary Worship Service. And we were delighted to receive kind greetings from our partners in Homoródkarácsonyfalva. This historic relationship is precious to all of us. We look forward to opportunities to be together, and to support the village and congregation in ways they tell us will be helpful, in the years ahead.
Learn more:
Recommended web sites:
- UU Partner Churches for information about global Unitarian Universalism.
- Hungarian Diocese of the Unitarian Church for information Hungarian Unitarian Church in English.