Reformátusok Lapja, 1969 (69. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1969-12-01 / 12. szám
REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA 13 were circulating anonymously in Transylvania in the latter half of the sixteenth century. Professor Barnabas Nagy was universally respected as one of this generation’s greatest historical and theological scholars. The University of Zurich made him a doctor, honoris causa, on the occasion of the celebration of the 400th anniversary of the Second Helvetic Confession, in recognition of his scholarly eminence. He was also an outstanding authority on the Magyar language. He represented the finest elements of the great Magyar Reformed tradition. He brought glory to Hungary, the Hungarian Reformed Church, and to the Lord whom he served. Dr. James I. McCord The Hungarian Reformed Church In Yugoslavia In the Trianon Treaty, sixty-three thousand square kms. were annexed to the newly created Yugoslavia. In this area there lived about one million Serbians, 1,727,000 Croations, others 1,366,000, of which three quarter of a million were Hungarian. At the present time, statistics show that there are about 600,000 Hungarians in Yugoslavia. It is worthwhile to note that this southern portion of Hungary which was annexed to Yugoslavia, was the unpopulated area where after the Turks were driven out, the Hapsburg kings settled the German and southern Slavic people. Hungarians living in this section had to produce legal papers showing their ownership of the land. This Germanization of Hungary was purposefully done by the Hapsburgs to weaken Hungary. After World War I, many Hungarians residing in this area had to flee. After World War II, again many Hungarians had to escape. Thousands of Hungarians become the victims of Serbian atrocities. The constituency of the Reformed Church in Yugoslavia between the two wars consisted of 50,391 Hungarians, 14,224 Germans, 593 Croations, 543 Czechs, a total of 65,751. Almost all the congregations owned their own parochial schools. In a pamphlet published in 1954, statistics show there were about 34,000 Hungarians, 400 Croations, 400 Czechs, and 200 Germans, altogether 35,000 members in the Reformed Church. Anyone looking at these numbers would ask what happened to the rest of the members of the Reformed Church? Statistics further show that the Reformed Church in Yugoslavia formed one Synod, with five classes and seventy-three congregations, served by twenty-seven pastors, two assistant pastors and five deacons. The parochial schools have all been confiscated. In this land which gave the first Hungarian Reformed pastor to America in 1852, Rev. Gedeon Ács, the church is being sentenced to death, just as it is being done everywhere behind the Iron Curtain. During the time of the Reformation when Hungary was being oppressed by the Turks and Austrians, the religious and political renewal came about with the help of the Reformation. We hope and pray that the Church and nation will again be renewed for a just and happier future. The Hungarian Reformed Church in the Annexed Section of Austria (Burgenland) In the Trianon Treaty, 4,000 square kms. with 232.000 Germans and 126,000 others, mostly Hungarians were annexed to Austria. Presently there are about 50.000 Hungarians living in Austria, of which about twenty per cent are members of the Reformed Church. The most unjust act of the Trianon Treaty was the claim of Austria for the western part of Hungary. The Austrians for four hundred years oppressed Hungary, and forced Hungary into World War II on their side. After the war however, Austria contributed to the mutilation of old Hungarian boundaries. In the land annexed from Hungary to Austria, there is one Hungarian Reformed congregation. After World War II and the 1956 Revolution, many Hungarians fled to Austria and formed many new Hungarian Reformed congregations, out of which two still exist, along with several other preaching stations.
