Calvin Synod Herald, 1986 (86. évfolyam, 1-6. szám)
1986 / 5-6. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD — 7 — REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA Farewell message for Rev. Sirmay Dear Family and Friends of our departed brother, Joseph: The text of my brief message to you this morning, will be found in the Book of Psalms, and in particular in Psalm 15, which reads, in part: “Lord, who shall abide in Thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in Thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.” The Book of Psalms is a wonderful compilation of religious poetry; of praise and prayers, many of which are attributed to King David, who, in addition to his military exploits, was also known as the Psalm writer. The Psalms are particularly comforting to read in times of sorrow and grief, and that is why Psalms such as the 23rd Psalm and the 90th Psalm are so frequently incorporated in the funeral service. Psalm 15 may not be as well known as some of others, but certainly, in content it lacks nothing. It begins with the question, “Lord, who shall abide in Thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in Thy holy hill?” And then it proceeds to answer these questions by saying, “He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness, and speaketh the truth in his heart.” It then continues to relate several other attributes of the righteous and upright, such as not doing evil to his neighbor, honoring those that fear the Lord, and so on. When 1 was given the distinct honor of rendering the eulogy for our departed brother, Joseph, it occurred to me as I searched the scriptures how appropriate this passage was to the spirit that filled the heart of our brother. “Lord, who shall abide in Thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in Thy holy hill? He that walketh uprightly, and worketh righteousness and speaketh the truth in his heart.” I think that our brother, Joseph, lived a life that was in conformity with the 15th Psalm. 1 am certain that he walked uprightly, and worked righteousness, and 1 am sure that he spoke the truth in his heart. I am also sure that he did no evil to his neighbor, and 1 have no doubt that he honored those who fear the Lord. And, as the Psalmist said, he that doeth these things shall never be moved. Our departed brother, Joseph, was born on April 5, 1932 in Nyíregyháza in Hungary. His father, Joseph Ocsenás, was a master shoemaker, and his mother, Zsuzsánna, was a housewife. Two children were born of this union, namely Piroska, and our brother Joseph. Both children received deep religious training from the parents. The family being of Lutheran background, Joseph completed grammar school at Nyíregyháza and completed his secondary school studies in the city of Sopron in 1952. HUNGARIAN STUDENTS It has been a custom for centuries that Hungarian reformed ministers and students preparing for the ministry have studied abroad as bursars at prestigious schools of theology. As a part of the research concerning this peregrination of Hungarian students a study was published in the special spring number of the U.S. periodical Reformed Review from the pen of Pastor Imre Bertalan, president of the Hungarian Reformed Federation of America. The special number of the 1986 volume of the periodical was published in honour of Professor M. Eugene Osterhaven. President Bertalan, while writing his study, made use of the basic research done by Pastor Dr. Aladár Komjáthy of Montreal, Canada, church historian, one-time student of the Theological Seminary in Kämpen, Holland. Prof. M. Eugene Osterhaven, a prominent Reformed theologian in the United States, is of Dutch descent. He was made honorary professor of theology by the Sárospatak Theological Academy in Hungary in 1948. He is now a leading professor of theology in the Western Theological Seminary of the American Reformed Church in Holland, Michigan. He was a dominant personality in the effort to help the war-damaged Reformed College in Sárospatak in resuming its work after World War II. The study of Pastor Bertalan covers three centuries of the peregrination of Hungarian students to the Netherlands, with special reference to the significance of the Sárospatak College. The article publishes the list of the Sárospatak professors of theology who studied at one time in Holland between 1630 and 1789. In the 19th century, the sister congregations of the Netherlands sent the major gift of 30,000 Guldens, the capital of which then served for more than half a century, up to the time of World War I, as “the scholarship from Holland” to help the Sárospatak students of meagre means. (HCP) From 1952 through 1954 he studied theology at the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Sopron, but due to illness and for other personal reasons, he was forced to suspend his theological studies. Following the terrible happenings of 1956, he became one of the many men and women who left H ungary during that year. In the meantime, he had married in Komló, Hungary, and together with his wife, emigrated to South America. He continued his theological studies in Argentina and was ordained as a Lutheran minister in Buenos Aires on August 10,1962. As an ordained minister, he contributed a great deal to the religious life of the Hungarian congregations in South America, and helped to strengthen and to expand their growth. In 1958 and in 1960, his family was increased by the birth of two sons, Attila and István, and in 1963 a daughter, Katalin, was born. Together with his wife and children he returned to Hungary in 1965 and served in several Lutheran congregations. This was a period of struggle and difficulty for all Christian ministers in Hungary, when, for example, on any given Sunday it would be necessary to serve as many as four or five spearate congregations in separate locations. Was it any wonder that in 1969 our brother, Joseph, decided to leave Hungary by himself, and emigrate to the United States? Upon his arrival in the United States, he first served a pastorate in Arizona and later he was called to Buffalo, New York, to serve a church in that city. From there he responded to a call to the First Hungarian Evangelical and Reformed Church of Detroit and commenced his work as a minister of that congregation in 1976, continuing in that capacity until the time of his death. In addition to the family members already mentioned, he is survived by twin granddaughters, Orsolya and Dóra, born last year to his daughter, Katalin. During his work in our congregation, brother Joseph also managed to serve various congregations in Toronto, Canada and in Windsor, Canada. A truly remarkable demonstration of an ecumenical nature occurred a couple of years ago when our brother Joseph accepted a call to the First Hungarian Evangelical Lutheran church of this city. As a result of this call, the two congregations — Lutheran and Reformed — approved a program of joint worship. This not only resulted in a sharing of the costs of maintenance and utilities, but it also created an atmosphere of close fellowship between
