Calvin Synod Herald, 1984 (84. évfolyam, 1-6. szám)

1984-08-01 / 4. szám

CALVIN SYNOD HERALD

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REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA

of the presbytery, nevertheless the Bishop continues to enforce disciplinary actions by removing the Rev. László Tokes from Des to some remote village where he can literally “disappear.” On April 16, 1984,1 wrote a letter to the Bishop inquiring about the case. I have not received a reply, perhaps because I should have inquired at the Department of Cults . . .

The over-reaction of the Bishop to the Rev. L. Tokes’ innocent survey can be understood from another aspect, too. He touched a very sensitive area of church life in Transylvania: it is impossible to buy a Reformed hymnbook in Cluj as it is out of print for years! Freedom of publication of theological books, periodicals, and other religious material is extremely restricted, and only selected persons can receive religious books or magazines from abroad. The Romanian State is particularly fearful of Hungarian Bibles! Last time when I crossed the Romanian border, I had to answer three questions: “Do you have gun? Do you have drug? Do you have Bible?” Of course, I had Bible, and fortunately they let me have it while I traveled in Romania, but not all my bishop colleagues have been as fortunate! . . . Importing Bibles is now prohibited by the government, but the government also restricts the number of Bibles which can be printed at home in an inadequate manner. Lutheran Bishop, Albert Kline noted to recent visitors that “if the German community requested 10,000 Bibles, it might get approval for 4,000 or 5,000 Bibles.” When the World Alliance of Reformed Churches sent in 20,000 Bibles only

10,000 were distributed: 1 for every 100 believers . . . But the most shocking news about this deprivation of Hungarian minority from the Bible reached us last month. In the Moldovian- Bukovinan region, there are 125,000 “Szekely-Csango” population who, for centuries, retained their Hungarian language, customs, songs, prayers, using their Bibles as the source of their religious and ethnic identity. The Romanian Government prevented all travel to that region in recent years, and now we learned that, in its nationalist-chauvinist attempt of Romanianization all Hungarian Bibles were confiscated and burned . . .

The United Nations Ad Hoc Committee on Genocide in 1948 accepted the following definition as one of the ways by which the crime of cultural genocide may be committed: “Systematic destruction of historical or religious monuments or their diversion to alien uses, destruction or dispersion of documents and objects of historical, artistic, or religious value and of objects used in religious worship.” The Romanian Government has been practicing this crime for years against the Hungarian minority nation. Decree Law 206/1947 and Act No. 63 of November 2, 1974 nationalized all “documents, official and private correspondance, memoirs, manuscripts, maps, films, slides, photographs, soundengravings, diaries, manifestos, posters, sketches, drawings, engravings, imprints, seals and like material” over 30 years old, from the possession of religious and cultural institutions and private citizens. The first victim of these war-like designs was the Hungarian Reformed Church in the north-east districts, and the intent was to sever the religious communities from their historical roots. The church without a past (tradition) has no future, especially one which represent a religious and national minority. The Ceausescu Regime makes every effort to expropriate even the tombs of the most prominent church leaders of the past in the historically famous cemetery of Hazsongard in Cluj-Kolozsvar in order to falsify history and deprive the Hungarian Reformed church from its past.

But the most devastating method and the most sinister attempt of the Department of Cults is to deprive the churches from adequate and proper leadership. Knowingly or unknowingly, the Romanian State fulfills the prophecy, “Strike the Shepherd that the sheep may be scattered” (Zecheriah 13:7, Matthew 26: 31). This “beating” takes various forms of which I mention only a few:

□ By open atheistic propaganda young people are discouraged to receive religious education and enter the ministry. Religious instruction is conducted in the parish houses, 20—30% of the

children attending; the instructor, however, cannot use blackboard, textbook, or even the Bible, neither are the children allowed to make notes. It is forbidden to put questions to the children or to take them for a trip. Religious affiliation can be a hindrance to have higher education ... However, these measures turn out to be as ineffective as the Pharaoh’s command to kill the Hebrew male children in the process of birth (Exodus 1:15—22). Nowhere in Eastern Europe is the religious ferment as noticeable as in present day Romania.

□ Limiting the number of seminarians who can be trained to be good “shepherds" — is the next step. The Lutheran Saxon Church would need 8—10 new theological student each year; thus in 1980, 10 new students were approved; 1981, there were 5; in 1982, just 2 were approved for entry into the seminary. Worse is the situation in the Hungarian Lutheran Church: their quota is ONE student in every OTHER year. However, the plight of the Hungarian Reformed Church is the worst: it would need 23-24 new student each year as it was the case during the period of 1949—75. In 1979, the number was lowered to 13, in 1980 to 10, and in 1983 only 6 were approved out of 68 applicants. (Even the Hungarian Baptist Church, 13,000 in number, have 8 students)

□ While in seminary, the students are organized into a spy ring. At the Cluj Protestant Theological Institute, the representative of the “securitate” (Romanian Secret Police) lives in the seminary building to supervise and direct the training of the servants of the State; he searches the rooms and personal belongings of the students while the students are in class. This wicked system of controlling the theological students produced fear, intimidation, distrust.

□ The system also takes care of the professors. The beloved Bishop of the Roman Catholic Church, Aaron Marton who was imprisoned for many years, expressed his deep concern that the Romanian Government did not allow capable priests to go to Rome for proper professional training, and 60% of the trained professors and priests were above 50 years of age. The restriction on receiving gifts, books, educational material from the West, corresponding with relatives, friends or institutions in non-Communist countries harm especially the minority population and the theological education in particular.

□ If the students completed their theological training, they are carefully placed to congregations: not according to the need and wishes of the congregations, but according to the demand of further control and ineffectiveness. If a pastor proves to be a good shepherd, beatings can be expected either from the civil or from the church authorities, or from both. The case of the Reverend Ferenc Visky of Hegykozpalyi, Transylvania is just one of the illustrations. Because he remained faithful to his call, he had to bear a fourfold cross: Hungarian in a chauvinistic Romania, Reformed in an Orthodox flood, non-Communist in a Communist society, and Evangelical Christian in a government-controlled Reformed Church. As a result he was sentenced to a 18—22 year imprisonment in the early 60’s and his wife with seven children was deported to a camp at the Danube delta. After six and a half years, he received amnesty and the family was reunited in Hegykozpalyi under strict ecclesiastical and secret police surveilance. Of course, he continued his faithful ministry, and thus on June 24, 1983, four secret policemen searched his house for foreign currency, jewelry, and books published outside of Romania. Currency and jewelry were not found, but books were discovered, and that is illegal. On July 1,1983 he had to move out of the parsonage and the Church forced him to premature retirement BEFORE the case was put to trial. The irony of the case is that, through the intervention of United States diplomatic sources, the Rev. Visky was acquitted of all charges by the Romanian State, and the Church had to reinstate him ... The Rev. Geza Palffy of Szekelyudvarhely was not so fortunate. This faithful and loyal Roman Catholic priest made a statement at the Christmas mass of 1983 that in Hungary Christmas is a holiday, while in Romania it is a workday. For this “crime” he was arrested