Calvin Synod Herald, 1992 (92. évfolyam, 1-6. szám)

1992-01-01 / 1. szám

CALVIN SYNOD HERALD — 4 -REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA IV. At this juncture in Christian history, because the God who does not rest is at hand, Calvin Synod proudly stands where its Reformed predecessors have dutifully stood, as defenders of the faith in the midst of tumult and sin in the Church. In the spirit of its motto, “If God be for us, who can be against us?”, it moved with measured solemnity at its Annual Meet­ing in 1991: „Recognizing the need for local congre­gations to be strengthened and encouraged in their faith and Christian life, our com­mittee recommends that if congregations of non-Hungarian background but with a commitment to a Biblical and confessional faith similar to that of our Calvin Synod should approach our Synod to join us, Calvin Synod should provide for them to form a fifth classis all their own and not be bound by the geographical boundaries of our present four classes, if they so desire.” We of Hungarian descent are of a some­what different culture and language than others in majority in the United Church of Christ, it is true. But we are bound by our common Reformation heritage of faith to many spiritual kindred, who now come to us for help. We recall with humble gratitude that it was the Dutch Reformed who ransomed from the Turk’s galleys those chained and martyred Reformed mi­nisters of our native land. So we cannot turn away from the plight of our members and churches whose pleas reach our ears as well as the hearing of God. V. The reason for the problem is stated to­day, “Calvin Synod vs. the United Church of Christ”, is that the Executive Committee has sought out its lawyers, and they have advised that Calvin Synod’s action is un­constitutional. However, that opinion is based upon erroneous information supp­lied by the counselor. As it’s said in com­puter parlance, “garbage in - garbage out”. This includes calling this reverend body “Calvin Synod Acting Conference”, which is also in error. The lawyer’s opinion includes a brief historical review, as told to him, about the organic connection of the Synod and its legitimate ecclesiastical predecessors. However, in parroting the repeated com­ments of UCC leadership, it declares, “An agreement was reached in 1962 and 1963 with the Executive Council, which permit­ted Calvin* to function as a non-geogra­­phical conference of the United Church of Christ.” (*He cursorily calls it “Calvin”, not the proper “Calvin Synod”.) But the contention that an “agreement” was reached is simply untrue. In the transi­tional years, when E & R synods were merging with CC conferences, the Magyar Synod (as it was called then) never merged with anyone. The officers of the denomi­nation tried to put the Hungarians’ feet to the fire and to compel immediate assimi­lation into the geographical conferences. The records of the Magyar Synod for those same years clearly show that its answer was “No”! When the United Church of Christ was developing its new constitution, president James E. Wagner urged its speedy ratifi­cation in his report to the General Synod of 1961. He endeavored to allay the fears of reticent delegates by reminding them that the new church was honor bound to the commitments made by the uniting parties in the enabling documents: “For, while the terms of the Basis of Union and Interpretations provide that the Constitu­tion and By-Laws are not mandatory on the Synods, Conferences, Conventions and Associations, nor on their reorganized successors in the United Church, they do offer recommended standards of proce­dure which responsible individuals and groups nowhere are likely to ignore or to lightly reject.” This interpretation is sup­ported by the very Constitution, which in Section 3 of the Preamble asserts: “The provisions herein define and regu­late the General Synod and those Instru­mentalities of the United Church of Christ which are recognized, established by or responsible to the General Synod, and describe the free and voluntary rela­tionships which the Local Churches, As­sociations, Conferences and ministers sus­tain with the General Synod and with each other. The pattern of relationships and procedures so described is recommen­ded to Local Churches, Associations, Conferences and ministers, to enable them more effectively to accomplish their tasks and the work of the United Church of Christ.” That Magyar Synod’s understanding was the same as that reiterated by Dr. Wagner is reflected in the 1960 Minutes of the Annual Meeting, referring to the report of its President, the Rev. Dr. Stephen Szabó; “Concerning our relation­ship to our Evangelical and Reformed Church, he called attention to the work of the Committee of Nine and the realign­ment problem of our Synod, assuring the delegates that Magyar Synod can and will continue its present organizational frame­work until we decide to dissolve it, as no synod can be forced into a new geogra­phical structure without its consent.” Of course this was true, since no synod or conference could be forced into a merger it did not want. Why should this one sy­nod, that was equal to the others in the polity ofthe E & R Church, be denied equal rights with the rest? The 1962 Minutes of Magyar Synod is quoted here: „... ‘the maximum offer of our denomi­nation was phrased as follows: “The Exe­cutive Council of the UCC, recognizing the promises made by the Reformed Church in the U.S. to the Eastern and Western classes of the Hungarian Re­formed Churches in America under the Tiffin Agreement of 1921; and recogniz­ing the efforts of the Magyar Synod in guiding its member congregations; and also recognizing the peculiar difficulties facing these congregations, gives assurance that the Magyar Synod acting as a Confe­rence of the UCC will be given further time to make the necessary preparation, and to allow the historical process of assi­milation to take place before integration into the territory of Conferences and Asso­ciations will be expected. It is the hope of the Executive Council that after this pe­riod of transition not only will the Magyar Synod be willing to make this adjustment but that also the congregations will be eager to join the Regional Conferences and Associations.” The Administrative Committee of the UCC voted in favor of this resolution on April 11, 1962. The text of this Resolution’s “maximum offer” was mailed in advance to our Synod Meeting to each official delegate, as the Synodical Council decided to place it on the agenda of our present Synod Meeting: not as an agreement, but as a proposal.”(Bold type in Minutes) Prospects for an amicable resolution of this problem was so slight, although hope never faded, that conversations with other Hungarian communities and notably with the Presbyterian Church increased in fer­vor. Were it not for minor differences of approach and several personality clashes, these union efforts might have resulted in the loss of the Magyar Synod churches right then. The synodical Minutes reflect, “But when the leaders of our denomination turned deaf ears to our cry, we were forced to explore other possibilities. Nevertheless, whatever other ways we sought in materia­lizing our dreams, the leaders of the deno­mination have always been fully informed with confidence and sincerity.” (Continued in our next issue)

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