Reformátusok Lapja, 1969 (69. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1969-11-01 / 11. szám
10 REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but only God gives the growth” (I Cor. 3:5 ff.). God Moves the Hearts of Men. Therefore, let us believe that God teaches us by his word, outwardly through his ministers, and inwardly moves the hearts of his elect to faith by the Holy Spirit; and that therefore we ought to render all glory unto God for his whole favor. But this matter has been dealt with in the first chapter of this Exposition. Who the Ministers Are and of What Sort God Has Given to the World. And even from the beginning of the world God has used the most excellent men in the whole world (even if many of them were simple in worldly wisdom or philosophy, but were outstanding in true theology), namely, the patriarchs, with whom he frequently spoke by angels. For the patriarchs were the prophets or teachers of their age whom God for this reason wanted to live for several centuries, in order that they might be, as it were, fathers and lights of the world. They were followed by Moses and the prophets renowned throughout all the world. (To be continued) The Hungarian Reformed Church in Romania In the Trianon Treaty, one hundred two thousand square km. were annexed from Hungary to Romania. In this area there lived 2,800,000 Romanians and 2,465,000 others; of these about two million were Hungarians and 708.047 were of Reformed background. In Transylvania (formerly Hungary), the Reformed Church had two synods. In the Transylvanian Synod there were twenty classes (presbyteries) and 593 congregations with 495,481 members; in the Királyhágó Synod there were six classes with 181 congregations and 212,566 members; altogether 774 congregations with 708.047 members. In the Transylvania Synod in 1928, there were 366 Reformed parochial elementary schools with 572 teachers. The number of pupils from age seven to fifteen numbered 60,450; out of which 22,761 attended Hungarian Reformed parochial schools and 5,552 were forced into Romanian schools. In the Királyhágó Synod there were 133 Hungarian Reformed parochial elementary schools with 240 teachers and 23,481 pupils. Of this total, only 13,264 pupils attended the Hungarian Reformed parochial schools, 368 attended other Hungarian schools and 3,642 were forced into Romanian schools. In the Transylvanian Synod there were five colleges for men, six colleges for women, one each for men and women teachers, and one school of commerce. In the Királyhágó Synod there was one mens college, one womens college and one high school. The teachers college was closed by the government. The church in 1928 had one Seminary in Kolozsvár with one hundred eighty-three students. After World War II, all church schools, except the Seminary, were confiscated by the Romanian government. The Hungarians had suffered much under the Romanian yoke since World War I, but since the end of the second World War, their suffering has grown The Transylvanian Diet at Torda Proclaims Religious Liberty (1568) deeper. A great majority of the Hungarian Reformed ministers were imprisoned or transported into detention camps in the Danube delta. Their only sin was that they were Hungarian and they loved their church. The Hungarian historical landmarks were almost all annihilated and written documents were transferred to prewar Romania. Expectant Romanian mothers from pre-war Romania are being transported to Transylvania to give birth to their children there; thus claiming that Transylvania is a Romanian province. The Hungarians in Transylvania are being spread all over Romania, and some Hungarians are escaping to Romania to avoid harassment. Hungarians find no employment in Transylvania and the Hungarian schools are being closed so that Hungarian children must attend Romanian schools. At one time, Transylvania was the land of political and religious freedom, but today, the Hungarians and other nationalities there, suffer under brutal Romanian rule and communist oppression. Hungarians and free people of the world, pray for your Hungarian Reformed Brethren in oppression. Free that nation which was the bulwark of faith and freedom in Europe.
