Calvin Synod Herald, 1992 (92. évfolyam, 1-6. szám)
1992-09-01 / 5. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD — 5 — REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA The 1992 Christian Observer Family Conference Was Held on June 19-22 A time of worship, seminars, and informal fellowship was shared by conferees. Dave Shank of the Christian Observer staff, and Mrs. Bucy of the Massanetta Springs Conference Center staff, did much to make the conference run as smoothly as possible. Bishop László Tőkés of the Transylvanian Reformed Church in Romania was the keynote speaker for the conference. Due to the current political turmoil in Eastern Europe, he was unable to attend the opening meetings of the conference, but arrived late Friday night in time to address the evening session. His luggage, unfortunately, failed to accompany him and only caught up with him in time for his return flight from Washington on Monday. In spite of all the difficulties, however, the Bishop was most gracious, speaking on the political situation on Friday night, conducting a question and answer session on Saturday night, and preaching on Sunday night. He also autographed copies of his recent book, The Fall of Tyrants, available from Crossway Books. He had to leave the conference following the Sunday night session to meet with Congressional staff and Congressman Lantos in separate briefings on Monday and to give a short press conference before returning to Romania that night. Dr. Tőkés preached this sermon on June 21, 1992, at the Christian Observer Family Conference in Massanetta Springs near Harrisonburg, VA. The title of his Sermon was: We Must Obey God. It is a sermon which he first preached during the dark days in Romania before the revolution in that country. At that time, neither he nor any of the members of his congregation had any idea what the immediate future held in store for them. Yet they chose to join their patient testimony with that of the saints who had gone before. This sermon is in many ways a tribute to their perseverance under some of the same conditions the early apostles faced. Tőkés László The Dangerous Situation of the Reformed Church in Romania Today Bishop Tőkés Spoke to Key Government Officials While in America for the Christian Observer Conference The Hungarian pastor who sparked the 1989 Romanian revolution recently told leaders in Washington that prodemocratic forces continue to face “manipulation” by a combination of nationalists and former Communists, who remain in control of the government. “The Securitate remains the main power in Romania,” said Bishop László Tőkés. “My family and I feel we are in the same circumstances as before the revolution.” Tőkés said religious minority groups are also facing continued pressure from the Romanian Orthodox Church, which is “closely connected to the government.” Tőkés is best known for his resistance to Securitate (secret police) attempts to evict him from his church in December 1989, leading to decisive prodemocracy demonstrations which toppled dictator Nicolae Ceausescu. He said the government has prevented action on draft laws on religion, submitted nearly two years ago by a coalition of 15 religious denominations. The groups were invited to forge a consensus on divisive issues like the registration of churches. Tőkés told NNI that, although the coalition included the Orthodox Church, which claims to represent three-fourths of the Romanian people, the Orthodox have no interest in promoting its passage. Tőkés said that only wide publicity turned back an Orthodox attempt to be identified in the 1991 Constitution as the “traditional” Romanian church. Tőkés, who now serves as bishop of Oradea, denounced recent police searches of Hungarian Reformed Churches. He said local officials have refused requests for the return of church property confiscated under the former Communist regime. In addition to pressures on Hungarian minority efforts to recover church buildings and their subjection to police searches, Tőkés said provisions of the draft education law introduced June 11 are “anti-democratic” because they ignore the “centuries old educational traditions of both Romanian and minority schools.” According to Tőkés, the draft (Continued on page 6)
