Calvin Synod Herald, 1981 (81. évfolyam, 1-6. szám)
1981-12-01 / 5. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD — 5 — REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA The Heritage of Bishop Ravasz----------------------Rev. Aaron Elek .--------It is my distinct honor and privilege to introduce one of the greatest Christians of the T wentieth Century, the late Dr. László Ravasz, former Bishop of the Hungarian Reformed Church, who was born on September the 22nd, 1882, and died in 1975, August the 6th. Let me give you a very brief biographical sketch of him. He was born in Banffyhunyad, Transylvania. He went to school in Székelyudvarhely, and gradueted from Gymnasium in 1900. He spent one year at the University of Berlin, Germany. His theological seminary was Kolozsvár, where he also received his Doctorate in Philosophy. Previously, he was a private docen at Sárospatak. He taught at the Seminary of Kolozsvár and rose rapidly in ecclesiastical circles until he became elected as the Bishop of the Budapest District Hungarian Reformed Church in 1921... His land of birth, Transylvánia, became, after the First World War, part of Rumania, and the Hungarians were forced to live as minorities. As far as I know, he went back only once, and the welcome by his fellow Hungarians defies description. He was keenly aware of the power of the written, as well as of the spoken language. He acquired one of the most beautiful Hungarian literary styles. His spoken, as well as his written language, were in the noblest Hungarian linguistic tradition, reminiscent of the language of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century reformers, whom Ravasz had so admired. Especially, his spoken language was of unusual eloquence. As a radio preacher, he wes listened to by practically the entire country, regardless of religious affiliation. One of his greatest contributions to Hungarian Protestanism was that he raised the level of preaching to unsurpassed heights in the 400 years’ history of the church. His sermons on the radio, and in the churches, acquired tremendous prestige for the teaching profession, thus paving way toward and early rapport between Catholicism and Calvinism in Hungary. His personality and joviality created a most cordial relationship between the two church bodies. Being a member of the Upper House of the Parliament, he had the chance of representing the noblest Hungarianism, which was motivated by his Transylvanian heritage. He considered Calvinism and Hungarianism to be synonymous. In his speech of 1927, which he delivered at Budapest, he said, “For 400 years, whoever was the enemy of the Reformation, was also the enemy of the Hungarian nationalism.”... During his lifetime, some of his adversaries accused him of assuming a high priestly aura, not indigenous to puritannical concept of religion; however, he was keenly aware of the demands of the times and including Socialism, in whatever form. He said, also in 1927 that, “All of the earthly goods, sufficient amount should be given to every man, to do away with misery and hunger, and to secure better lives for the working millions.” He always sided with those who strove for a better life for every working man, to the point that he was again accused of being a Socialist... As a theologian he left his imprint on Hungarian Christianity. His theological career actually began with the edition of his “Homiletics”, a book he wrote while he was still in his late twenties. It is Volume No. 22 of the parochial theological series, edited by the Hungarian Reformed Church between the two World Wars, containing standard theological works in church history, ecclesiastics, dogmatics, ethics, et cetera, and made available for even the smallest congregation, a unique contribution of our church to the Protestant church, a dire need in our entire American-Hungarian Reformed community, as well. Ministers of the gospel need to keep abreast of the times and to reshape their tools to meet the challenge of the days... In his entire life, his main concern the problems of preaching and the teaching of preaching — not the methodological aspect of the preaching of the Word of God, but the content of it. He possessed the charismatic quality of being able to tailor his sermons to the actual situation of his listeners. In this respect, he was an existentialist, but the content of his message was always rooted in the historical, classical Calvinist theological understanding, as it was expounded in the Heidelberg Catechism and the Second Helvetic Confession. For this reason, he drew the righteous ire of the extremist fundamentalists of his day. Theology and preaching were inseparable in his mind. Preaching, however, should not only rest on theological tenets, but on the entirety of life, wich it must address. It is always a true barometer of the world’s events. The preacher must be cognizant of every important event and happening in life if he intends to cast the beam of eternal light upon them; however, the distinction between the two should always be borne in mind and never to confuse them. Ravasz’s personal habits, speeches, attitudes, revealed him as one who is in the world, but of the world. In his view, the two can coexist peacefully, harmoniously, productively, without infringing upon each other’s territory... He stressed that preaching the Word of God is not a matter of tricks, oratorical competence, but of conviction. I vividly remember him saying, “If you are not convinced of what you are saying, how can you convince others?” And, “If you don’t belive what you are preaching how can you expect others to belive it?”... Ravasz’s sermons, lectures, meditations were published in several volumes. Most of our ministers have copies of them and some are using them with or less success. He once said that the epigon, the imitator, can only imitate the vices of his Master since he is unable to imitate his merits... His last work is his translation of the New Testament. He began to work on it in his early eighties, and this he became, perhaps, the oldest translator of the Bible. This is his “Opus Vitae,” the crowning reward of a fruitful life. He strove to clarify the Biblical text, make it readily understandable for the average reader, and at the same time reveal its message through the help of contemporary language and expression. This New Testament was edited by the Bethlen Printing Press of Ligonier, Pennsyl-
