Bethlen Évkönyv, 1991-1992 (Ligonier)
Rev. Dr. Alexander Havadtoy: Meeting my listeners I had never known
to the situation that existed during the Communist era. In those days my name was taboo. It could not appear in print, it could not be mentioned on radio or television. Now, I was seated next to the President of the Hungarian Republic, and the Primate of the Roman Catholic church, who also honored us with his presence. Our visit to Transylvania was no less memorable. Even more people knew me there, since I was born in that part of the country. When we stepped over the border between Hungary and Romania, the Romanian Radio announced my arrival, not once, but several times. This filled us with a certain uneasiness which proved to be unfounded. The reception was extremely cordial. The officials at the border let us pass through without even looking at our luggage. We visited seven cities, among them Kolozsvár, Marosvásárhely, Sepsiszentgyörgy, Kovászna, Gyergyószentmiklós. Again I was asked to conduct services and give lectures in everyone of them. Whether the service was held on a Sunday or a weekday, in the morning or in the evening, the churches were always filled to capacity. We sensed the intensive spiritual life of the people. There we could see also the importance of the churches not only in the spiritual but also in the national context. One of our most memorable visits was to my home town, Kovászna. I was invited to preach there one Sunday morning. It was a rainy day. It poured all night, and with the breaking of the day the rain would even intensify. We were convinced that if 20 people would show up on such a rainy day, we would have a crowd. To our great surprise, by the time we got to the service, the 2,000 seating capacity church was filled. There was standing room only under the balconies. It was a wonderful feeling to conduct the sevice from the very pulpit from where my father preached the Word for more than 47 years. And the people still remembered me, and called me by my childhood nickname. For many of them, I was still my father’s little boy. While the economy is in shambles, the churches are flourishing in Transylvania. It is not unusual to see confirmation classes with 200 young people, dressed in the colorful folk costumes of their area. Their most burning issue remains the fate of the church schools. The Romanian 21
