Calvin Synod Herald, 1977 (77. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1977-11-01 / 11-12. szám
« CALVIN SYNOD HERALD For more than a thousand years, Transylvania used to be part of Hungary, but at the end of the First World War defeated Hungary was forced to cede it to Romania. Since then it has changed hands several times, and the Transylvanian issue was used as a bait by Hitler to assure the cooperation of both countries with Nazi Germany. Neither country — whether under right-wing dictatorship or communist rule — has treated the Transylvanian minorities well. Moscow, too, has exploited the Transylvanian issue for its own ends. Behind the scenes Nikita Khrushchev used it to force the independent-minded Romanians back into the fold, and Mr. Brezhnev has used it as a bargaining counter in the aftermath of the Czechoslovak crisis and in the territorial dispute over Bessarabia. At the height of the Bucharest-Moscow quarrel in 1974, Soviet representatives in Romania were making frequent and demonstrative trips to the Hungarian regions of Transylvania, giving the impression that Moscow was not indifferent to the plight of the Hungarian minority. In bringing into the open the problem of Transylvania’s Hungarians, the Budapest newspaper appears to be appealing to the signatories of the Helsinki accord now meeting in Belgrade to help to solve the Transylvanian issue. Gabriel Rónay The Times (London), Saturday, Oct. 15,1977 TWO NEW BISHOPS FOR REFORMED CHURCH IN HUNGARY Two new bishops, both in their mid-forties, have been elected by the Reformed Church in Hungary. They are the Rev. László Kürti (46) and Dr. Károly Tóth (45). Mr. Kürti, Professor of Old Testament and Dean at the Debrecen Theological Academy, will be bishop of the Cistibiscan District of the Reformed Church in succession to Bishop Sándor Ráski who died last July. After studying theology at Debrecen and Utrecht, the Netherlands, Mr. Kürti worked as a parish minister, a staff member in his Church’s Foreign Relations Department, and as leader of its Study Department. In 1970 he joined the faculty of the Debrecen Academy. Since 1973, Mr. Kürti has been a member of the European Area Committee of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches. Dr. Károly Tóth, a vice-president of the WARC and a member of its executive committee, has been elected bishop of the Danubian District of the Reformed Church, where he will succeed Bishop István Szamosközi, who has asked to be released from his duties for health reasons. Dr. Tóth is a head of the Main Department of the Church’s Synodal Office, and general secretary of the Christian Peace Conference. The Reformed Church in Hungary is divided into four districts, each headed by a bishop. The other two bishops in the office are Dr. Lajos Bakos and Dr. Tibor Bartha who is also the presiding bishop of the Church. Dr. Bakos was Mr. Kürti’s predecessor on the WARC European Area Committee; Dr. Bartha served on the WARC executive committee from 1964 until 1977. RPS, Oct. ’77 UNITED CHURCH OF CHRIST Dear friend and colleague: October 3, 1977 You and the people you lead were in my thoughts as I began my new ministry as President of the Church on October 1. The ninety days since General Synod have passed swiftly and have been filled with intensive preparations as well as times of reflection and leisure. Not far ahead is my formal installation which will take place in Old First Church, Philadelphia, on December 4 in a service of worship and a day of celebration. I will be sending you soon parts of that Installation Service that I hope you will include in your own services of worship on the second Sunday of Advent. Most of my years in the ministry have been spent in pastorates of local congregations. Pastoral ministry is a priority with me, and I shall not forget the counsel of one of my new colleagues in New York, “Avery, be a minister to the interior life of the Church.” This letter is my way of saying to you, “Let us be in faithful touch with each other.” My intention is to write often, to be available by voice through electronic media and to see and meet with you whenever possible. I intend to be open and frank with you about my own work and about the life of the United Church of Christ. Since communication is a two-way process, I expect you to be open and frank with me about the ministry in which you and the members of your congregation are engaged. We are a Church of the covenant. Our covenant loyalties extend back and forth within the local church, and among the local churches, associations, conferences and national agencies of the United Church of Christ. All of us are servants of one Lord. All of us are part of one Church Universal, striving together to carry out locally the mandates of the Gospel. And because we are a covenanted Church, all of us in every place and organization need to listen intently to one another. The United Church of Christ is twenty years old. In those twenty years we have become more fully united, have established a high level of trust and love for each other and have taken many courageous leadership positions on behalf of human rights and justice. But our demands upon ourselves as a Church in service of the Gospel among the urban poor, the dispossed and our partner churches in the developing nations have been far too light. I see the mission boldness and effectiveness of our conferences and national agencies expanding significantly next year and each year following. In fact, at the Synod in Washington, I called on delegates to join me in leadership in reaching a minimum goal of growth in our support of Our Christian World Mission from the present level of $19,000,000 to $25,000,000 by our 25th birthday in 1982. You and I know, from our years in leadership in the Churches, that growth in financial support is a by-product of faith development and engagement in the mission. So we have our work of spiritual leadership and planning cut out for us. Many of you have written since Synod. I thank you for those letters. I encourage you to be in touch regarding goals for our future. Clearly we are in this together and we need each other. Grace and peace to you as life in your parish gets underway this fall. Faithfully yours, Avery D. Post President l
