Calvin Synod Herald, 1994 (94. évfolyam, 2-6. szám)
1994-05-01 / 3. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERflLP- 7 -REFOMflTÜSOK LAPJA Bishop Dr. Kalman Csiha: The Situation, Plans, Decisions and Needs of the Transylvanian Reformed Church District Around one million Hungarian speaking Reformed people live in two church districts. The Transylvanian Church District consists of 600,000 souls and the Kiralyhagomelleki Church District consists of 400,000 souls. The history, traditions, hymn-book, liturgy and physical situation differ in the two dioceses. The Kiralyhagomelleki Church District was organized after the first world war, since the respective territory had belonged to Debrecen, to the Tiszántúli Church District before the conclusion of peace. Thus Kiralyhagomellek has preserved the liturgy and traditions and hymn-book of Debrecen and its surroundings of before the first world war. We consider that the Transylvanian Church District came into being in 1564 having independent Transylvanian traditions, a special spiritual constitution, a separate hymn-book, liturgy and congregational life. The common organ of the two dioceses is the Synod, a definitely legislative body. The two church districts work independently, according to the laws of the Synod and respectingthe heritage of the historical traditions. The center of the Kiralyhagomelleki Church District is Nagyvarad (Oradea) and the center of the Transylvanian one is Kolozsvár (Cluj). Theological education runs at Kolozsvár at the University Level Unified Protestant Theological Institute, where the confessionalism and Karoly Barth's after-effect dominates, as far as the Reformed doctrines are concerned. Our Theology wishes to remain the theology of the Gospel. The spiritual aspect of the two church districts is also out of older and more recent historical reasons. The regulations of our ecclesiastic code, the Statue, were not respected in the Kiralyhagomelleki Church District in the last decades. The right of the congregation to elect their minister was violated; there were no visitations of the deans*, the internal missionary work was hindered, religious education was not supported by the officials of the church. The spiritual life deteriorated in most of the congregations, tensions and distrust appeared between the minister and congregation in many places. Work with the youth was not dared to be done, either. Freedom of electing the pastor was preserved in the Transylvanian Church District even during the dictatorial period, too, though elections had to be confirmed by the state. The episcopal visitations went on, which took into account the religious and the confirmation education, too, most of the places. The general assembly of the church district made the pastor's visits to the families of the congregation compulsory in the years of the dictatorship. Youth Bible study groups were formed within many congregations against all the political pressure ofthe last 10 to 15 years. In Maros presbytery, that formed around a quarter of the church district, special classes were set up for educating church elders. Youth Bible study groups were asked to be organized by a circular and holding of Bible classes for adults and ecumenical week of prayers were made compulsory. Around 95% ofthe young people living in the church district were confirmed and relatively few people were buried without a pastor and few children were left unbaptized. Relationships between congregations and their pastors was good, except in some cases. Our people felt their only help was God and their single refuge was the church in hard times. After the revolution the presbyteries were reorganized and new presbyteries formed a general assembly of the church district that elected its own leadership and bishop* We tried to divide the big congregations and make the smaller and weaker ones independentduringthe period ofthe dictatorship. But we inherited the lack of ministers as a burden, because very few (5 or 6) young people were allowed to enter to study Theology during those years. Today there are 522 places in the church district for ministers and 132 of them are without a minister. We also have 201 students at the fifth year level in theology. Thirty will graduate this year and 62 next year. □ □□ New Honor Bestowed on One of Our Own Our own and dear Béla Köteles has the honor of having a Heart Surgery Operating Room named after him at the Medical Department of the Dein Hungary. a second generation Hungarian, who was born in Cleveland. His parents were simple Magyar immigrants who came here with the first wave of immigration from the town of Tenke in Bihar County in Hungary. Their ancestors in Tenke were noted already in the year of 1770 as the records run, as "hard-working, honest and reliable citizens following the Calvinistic religion." Harry Emerson Fosdic said "Democracy is based upon the conviction that there are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary people." Our Béla Köteles is an example at the highest level of that terminology. In his home in our Magyar Debrecen, he is surrounded with wife Marianne, one son and two daughters and a number of grandchildren. His spacious country-home in Broadview Heights, a perfect replica of a Magyar Kúria, has been the most gracious hosting "Bonneville" to all Hungarian visiting dignitaries and community leaders for well over a half century. He is a self-made enterprising businessman, who by the industrious work of his two hands and keen mind, reached the highest possible level of American achievements. His PEMCO heart-lung units made his name known worldwide. A dozen of them are operating in Hungary, all produced by his PEMCO - some even donated by him as an outright gift. The first unit was the gift of our Calvin Synod. brecen University Mr. Köteles is □ □□
