Calvin Synod Herald, 1973 (73. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1973-06-01 / 6-7. szám
REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA 5 Dr. Vassady to Retire After Forty-eight Years of Teaching In 1925 Lancaster Theological Seminary celebrated its first centennial and was just starting the second century of its service to Christ and the Church. In the same year a young Hungarian Reformed minister returned to his native country, Hungary, from study in America and began his career as a theological professor. His name was and is Bela Vassady, and his 48 years in the teaching ministry have coincided with the 48 years of Lancaster Seminary’s second century. Twenty-one of those years have been spent by Dr. Vassady as professor of systematic theology on this campus. When he began his career, he was only 22 years old, the youngest professor in Hungary, and now — 48 years later — there is believed to be no other theological professor either in Hungary or in America who has taught for so many years. The Vassadys’ life story is so full of interesting detail, adventure, and service in so many different capacities that an article in such a limited space cannot possibly do justice to it. Their life, literally from birth, has been studded with wars, political upheavals, enforced or so-called “voluntary” geographical changes. “We were uprooted more times than we care to count,” says Mrs. Vassady. “Our 21 years in Lancaster County have meant ‘permanence.’ After having lost all our properties in Hungary, the house we bought in Millersville 11 years ago turned out to be our most lasting home.” Dr. Vassady will be given special recognition in a variety of ways this Spring. A book of personal statements from many former students, friends, and colleagues is being compiled to be presented to him at Commencement. The Seminarian will publish a special issue in his honor. And he and Mrs. Vassady will be honored at a reception following the Baccalaureate service, at which he was invited by the senior class to preach the sermon. They will also be recognized at the Alumni Association banquet the evening of Commencement Day. On the occasion of Dr. Vassady’s retirement, President Glasse remarked: “Bela Vassady would want us to give thanks to God, and not to him, for the 21 years of service to the church as a professor of theology at Lancaster Seminary, Such is the character of the man and his faith. But I want to say a word on behalf of the Seminary to Dr. and Mrs. Vassady for the deep and lasting impression they have made on the lives of all who knew them. Dr. Vassady brought to his teaching the resources of a long and distinguished career as pastor, teacher, editor, author, administrator, and ecumenical statesman. He gave freely of himself — his learning and his life — and we are ail richer for our association. We wish for the Vassadys a long and happy retirement as they rest from these labors but continue their service to Christ and the church.” Dr. Vassady first came to this country in 1922 with the help of Dr. James Isaac Good, a pastor and church historian whose financial assistance enabled him to spend three years in America earning his B.D. and Th.M. degrees. Two years later he earned his Th.D. degree summa cum laude from the University of Debrecen, Hungary, with his dissertation on The History of Psychology of Religion, the first history on that subject in any language. He spent 21 years as a professor of theology in three seminaries of the Reformed Church of Hungary. At two of these he served as dean and at one, the seminary of his alma mater, in Debrecen, he was president when he left his country in 1946 to come to the U.S. on a speaking tour for the World Council of Churches. He was the first minister allowed to cross the Iron Curtain. While he was in America, the Communists took over the Hungarian government. Dr. Vassady decided to stay in America, and after overcoming many obstacles, his wife and three children joined him in 1947. Then followed a period of “wandering” until they found their new home in Lancaster. Dr. Vassady was guest professor at Princeton Theological Seminary for two years, visiting lecturer at McCormick Seminary for one semester, guest professor at Fuller Theological Seminary in California for two years, and professor at Dubuque University and Seminary in Iowa for one year. They came to LTS in 1952. Before leaving Hungary, Dr. Vassady had established himself as a theologian. He won a prize from the Kant Gesellschaft in Berlin for his essay on “The Psychology of Faith.” He wrote seven books and edited many others in Hungarian, and later in this country he wrote three books and many articles in English. In 1936 Dr. Vassady had introduced Karl Barth to Hungary, organizing a lecture tour for the great theologian and serving as his interpreter. Dr. Vassady was one of the founders of the World Council of Churches and has attended its assemblies and the Council meetings of the World Alliance of the Reformed Churches, many times with his wife, Serena, serving as an official delegate of the Presbyterian church. In his native country Dr. Vassady had edited a pastoral weekly, a pastoral monthly, a theological quarterly, and finally a political daily paper. In the U.S. he established and edited for almost ten years Theology and Life. He is and wants to remain a pastor. “The ultimate purpose of theological education must remain spiritual,” he says, “the formation of Christ in each prospective minister.” He believes theological professors should preach and teach in various congregations as often as they can. He has supplied a pulpit in Philadelphia since 1969, preaching every Sunday for two congregations, once in English and once in Hungarian.
