Calvin Synod Herald, 1991 (91. évfolyam, 1-6. szám)

1991-11-01 / 6. szám

CALVIN SYNOD HERALD REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA to preach the Word of God at the Bu­dapest stadium to about 40,000 people. What a contrast to the situation that existed during the Communist era. In those days my name was taboo. It could not appear in print, it could not be mentioned on radio or television. Now, I was seated next to the Presi­dent of the Hungarian Republic, and the Primate of the Roman Catholic church, who also honored us with his presence. Our visit to Transylvania was no less memorable. Even more people knew me there, since I was born in that part of the country. When we stepped over the border between Hun­gary and Romania, the Romanian Radio announced my arrival, not once, but several times. This filled us with a certain uneasiness which proved to be unfounded. The reception was extremely cordial. The officials at the border let us pass through without even looking at our luggage. We visited seven cities, among them Kolozsvár, Marosvásárhely, Sepsiszentgyörgy, Kovászna, Gyergyószentmiklós. Again I was asked to conduct services and give lectures in everyone of them. Whether the service was held on a Sunday or a weekday, in the morning or in the evening, the churches were always filled to capacity. We sensed the intensive spiritual life of the people. There we could see also the importance of the churches not only in the spiritual but also in the natio­nal context. One of our most memorable visits was to my home town, Kovaszna. I was invited to preach there one Sun­day morning. It was a rainy day. It poured all night, and with the break­ing of the day the rain would even in­tensify. We were convinced that if 20 people would show up on such a rainy day, we would have a crowd. To our great surprise, by the time we got to the service, the 2,000 seating capacity church was filled. There was standing room only under the balconies. It was a wonderful feeling to conduct the ser­vice from the very pulpit from where my father preached the Word for more than 47 years. And the people still remembered me, and called me by my childhood nickname. For many of them, I was still my father’s little boy. While the economy is in shambles, the churches are flourishing in Tran­sylvania. It is not unusual to see con­firmation classes with 200 young people, dressed in the colorful folk costumes of their area. Their most bur­ning issue remains the fate of the church schools. The Romanian autho­rities still refuse to return the church schools and colleges that were built with the pennies of the parishioners already during the XVI Century Re­formation. They are also refusing to re-open the Hungarian language Bo­lyai University. Without the church schools, the very being of the 2.5 mil­lion Hungarian population of Tran­sylvania is jeopardized. In several communities Hungarian language State Schools were permitted to open last year. While I was there, the authorities ordered in many of them the opening of one strictly Ro­manian class this September. Once the camel’s nose enters the tent, the Hun­garian State Schools are doomed. This is the reason that the churches are demanding the return of their own school buildings, for they want to be the masters of their own educational system. In Hungary proper the economic climate has changed for the better. American and Western businessmen find many opportunities for invest­ments. Budapest is filled with Western investors eager to start new enterprises in a country, where the people are hard-working, diligent and reliable, and foreign capital is heartily wel­come. The agricultural sector is parti­cularly productive. Hungary has a si­zable agricultural over production which it cannot sell. It would be very advantageous if the Western credits to help Russia purchase food would be structured, at least partly, through Hungary. Thus they could deliver to the starving Russians the Hungarian agricultural surpluses. There is much more problem with the sheer physical and spiritual life of the nation. During the foreign occupa­tion, 4.5 million abortions were per­formed, a loss that a small nation of 10 million people will not be able to remedy in the near future. In spite of the large number of Transylvanians who migrate to Hungary, the nation loses 17,000 people every single year. The childbearing mothers are simply missing, due to the abortion laws of the past 45 years. There are serious problems in the spiritual realm also. A whole genera­tion grew up without any religious education. The stories of the Bible, the church services and traditions are completely foreign to them. Since their Christian identity is shaky, so is also their national identity. Our true literature, history, folk culture remain unknown to the majority of the people. Their willigness to assume responsibili­ty for the future well-being of the na­tion remains therefore scanty. To re­shape the thinking and attitude of the people, the religious and intellectual leaders will have a whale of a task. However, when we looked at the large number of children who fill the church pews and schools, when we looked at the beautiful young faces who entered the newly re-opened Church High Schools and Colleges, our confidence in the nation’s future was restored. By the grace of the Al­mighty, we can and will become once again a strong and healthy people in the heart of Europe. TO ALL OUR GOOD FRIENDS WHOM IT MAY CONCERN... Grateful thanks to those, who took time to communicate their satisfaction; especially to the ones, who underlined their pride with checks for new or renewed subscrip­tions to our Paper. Our very special thanks for the additional colors to make this Joint Issue printed in "nemzeti színekben” goes to Lili Volosin for her $400.00 gift. Sincere thanks to the Norridge (IL) Church for the $100.00 and to Rev. Julius Paál for the $50.00 donation. * * * Köszönet mindazoknak, akiket illet Lapunk 91. évének zártakor történelmi küldetésünk jelen kanyaréban Olvasóink nagy táborának, kik elismerő leveleikkel és csekkeik bizonyságával el­árasztották szerkesztőségünket. Volosin Lilinek, aki magyarosan dobogó szívével példás $400.00 összegű adomány adásával lehetővé tette, hogy jelen kará­csonyi számunk ismét a nemzeti színekben tudott megjelenni, melynek nyomában pi­ros, fehér, zöldben járunk, ami az igazi tel­jesség! ____________________________

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