Calvin Synod Herald, 1989 (89. évfolyam, 1-2. szám)
1989-09-01 / 2. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD — 7 -REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA Amerikai és Magyar cimcr American and Hungarian Emblems Tradition or Traditionalism There are many of us still here, who will do everything in our power to preserve as much as possible of our beloved mother-tongue in our congregations. There are some among us, who will do anything; and even those, who will do all against using Hungarian in any form in the lives of our churches. This is our fate in our delicate American-Hungarian life! But beyond and above the great problem of language there is a yet greater problem of preserving our unique Hungarian-Reformed Traditions. The Hungarian Language — much to our sorrow — so close to the Centenerian mile stone is slowly and gradually disappearing; whether we do everything in our power or not. What outlives the language — and should — is our Hungarian Tradition of our Reformed Faith: our beautiful liturgical customs and proven Calvinistic form of our church-government. The great Reinhold Niebuhr wrote: “No Present can have firm foundation and no Future can be fruitful, unless they are deeply rooted in the Past.” There is a tremendous difference between Tradition and Traditionalism. Our age confuses the two: judging from the latter discards even the former. Tradition is the living Faith of the dead, the faith of our forefathers in us: Traditionalism is — just the opposite —, the dead faith of the living, the spiritless imitation of the dead by the living. Our Hungarian Reformed Tradition is the faith of our fathers still living in us from generation to generation with the precious customs of the Past in the Present for the Future. On the liturgical scene I only want to mention here the very unique and solemn Form of our Hungarian Reformed Communion Service. Nothing can more readily prove the magnificence of our own traditional Service of Communion than the following incident I myself experienced. An Angol-saxon minister of an altogether Anglo-saxon congregation from Wisconsin was visiting in Cleveland one Sunday. He came to the morning service in our First Hungarian Reformed Church. It happened to be Communion Sunday. I administered the Holy Communion in English but in the word by word translation of our ancient Hungarian Communion Service. He asked me after the Service what liturgical form I used, since he thought it was the most impressive form he ever experienced. He asked for a copy of the form and notified me for a long time after, that he introduced the same Communion format in his congregation to the great satisfaction of his non-Hungarian congregation. And now on the scene of church government, where we excel. There is no better form of governing congregations than our own. No wonder that the forefathers of our American Nation chose the Calvinistic Geneva Form of government as the form to be copied. And because of that this Nation under God became the envy of the whole world. Our Hungarian Reformed Church-government is the perfect product Calvin’s Geneva church-government. But our churchgovernment in its true essence is not Democracy (the rule of the people’s will), but Theocracy (the rule of God’s will). We elect people into our administering Church-Cabinets and Consistories; as elders and presbyters; not to be representatives of their own fallible, human will; but to be representatives of God’s infallible and perfect will. On that level, oh what unbelievable dangers at the present in the lives of our congregations?! There are always more and more of those elected into our church boards, who — either willingly or unwillingly — trying to enforce their own petty-little wills upon our congregations because of secterian connections and anti-Calvinistic influences; instead of the rule of God’s Will. What tremendous danger to our Traditions especially at times when great decisions have to be made in the congregational life? ‘We are living in dangerous Ages, there are lions in the cages.’ Quoting the great Calvinistic, Hungarian poet, Ady: “You, who are so few and forsaken: Watchmen! Be vigilant on your appointed posts!” If those, who are called to be watchmen, are not vigilant on their posts, what will happen to the people in our congregations?! What will be our future without firm roots in the Past? What will be the fate of our Heritage? Be on guard to preserve our precious Heritage, keep loyal to our Royal Tradition! God save us from the tragedy of Jerusalem! God save our lips to be forced to sing the ancient 79th Psalm ever in our history: “O God, the heathen have come into thy inheritance; they have defiled thy holy temple: they have laid Jerusalem in ruins. ” Editor
