Bethlen Naptár, 1959 (Ligonier)

Bethlen Almanac

30

BETHLEN ALMANAC

RT. REV. ZOLTÁN BEKY FIRST BISHOP OF THE HUNGARIAN REFORMED CHURCH IN AMERICA

Representatives of the Free Magyar Reformed Church in America held their sixth constitutional and diocesan meeting on February 21 at Duquesne, Pennsylvania, where the Free Church was organized just 34 years before.

The chief items before the constitutional meeting were the enactment of overtures which were presented to the local congregations by the previous year’s meeting. These dealt with the official name of the denomination and the establishment of the bishopric. The overtures were accepted by the congregations and thus the official name of the denomination became: Hungarian Reformed Church in America and the Rev. Zoltán Beky was elected to serve as the first Bishop.

The Rev. Beky is one of the outstanding personages of Hungarian life in America as well as among the Hungarian Reformed people. He has served Hungarian Americans with tireless energy for thirty years. He has used his great abilities in presenting the cause of Hungarians, here and in Europe, before native as well as international audiences. During his time of service as Dean the number of congregations in his charge doubled! While he was Arch Dean the Free Church gained new congregations and was strengthened within. The Free Church has now become the only Hungarian Reformed group in America to have membership in the World Council of Churches.

Bishop Beky is a member of the Council of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches; vice-president of the Governor’s Committee on Refugees; an honorary professor of Sárospatak Seminary in Hungary; vice-president of the Hungarian Reformed Federation of America.

His installation to the Bishopric took place during the diocesan meeting. The service of installation was conducted by the Rev. George E. K. Borshy, Rev. Stephen Szőke, Rev. Louis Nagy and Rev. Gabor Csordás. We greet Bishop Beky in the name of our readers.