In a letter Hungary's prime minister greeted participants celebrating the renovation of the Reformed Church College in Romania's Targu Mures (Marosvásárhely) on Monday.

The time of joy and thanksgiving has come, PM Orban wrote. The enormous amount of work and the struggles of so many years have finally borne fruit: the Reformed Church College shines once again in its former glory. The prime minister thanked the locals for their perseverance, work and prayers.

Following the lead of religious ancestors and the first preachers, they did what their conscience has dictated, despite all the difficulties and treachery, Mr Orban told participants at the ceremony, „After all, we Hungarians were already fighting for our survival when Reformation arrived in Hungary and Transylvania. The homeland, torn into three pieces, lay in ruins, with almost all hope of prosperity and glory being lost, when the Word of God, read and preached in our mother tongue was able to pour new strength into people. Congregations and schools were founded, including the Reformed Church College in Targu Mures (Marosvasarhely), which – during its five centuries of operation – has educated a number of scientists and teachers,a s well as church and secular leaders, Viktor Orban wrote.

Today, when we look around us on the anniversary of Reformation, we can see once again that Reformed Church nurseries and schools are being built and renovated across Transylvania, he continued. These institutions are all bulwarks of Hungarian survival. One of the most significant of them is the recently renovated Reformed College in Targu Mures, where all the conditions are now in place for young people who are committed to their homeland to emerge from this institution just as the famous alumni who had been brought up here in the past – PM Orban emphasised, wishing teachers and students of the institution strength, health and fruitful work, his press chief – Bertalan Havasi – told Hungary’s state news agency (MTI).