Calvin Synod Herald, 1995 (95. évfolyam, 1-5. szám)
1995-09-01 / 5. szám
CALVIN SYNOD MERALD 7 AMERIKAI MAGYAR REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA RÉV LAJOS MOLNÁR 1919-1995 Lajos Molnár was born in Hajdúnánás, in 1919, of Reformed parents. He attended (1929-1937) and graduated from the Református Főgimnázium in Kecskemét, and subsequently enrolled at the Reformed Theological Academy at Sárospatak. After receiving his degree in 1941, he enrolled at the University of Debrecen, where he obtained a diploma as a secondary education teacher, in 1944. In the same year he returned to his school in Kecskemét and later joined the staff at Csurgó, teaching Hungarian and English language and literature. During the initial period of Communist rule in Hungary, he was arrested for refusing to lead students and take part in demonstrations. After spending 385 days in prisons, he was also interned for three months in forced labor camps. In 1949, he escaped by swimming a river and crossed over to Yugoslavia. There, in turn, he was arrested by Tito's border guards. He managed to escape again, and found his way to Trieste, where he served as minister to Hungarian refugees. Subsequently, he attended the Graduate School of Theology at Lausanne, Switzerland. He arrived in the United States and with a World Council of Churches fellowship studied at the Oberlin School of Theology. While at Oberlin, he was a frequent guest speaker and visiting minister in the greater Cleveland area Hungarian Reformed churches. Oberlin awarded Molnár the degree of Master of Sacred Theology in 1954. He assumed his first pastorate in the United States in the same year, when he was elected minister by the Hungarian Evangelical and Reformed Church in Gary, Indiana. In October, 1954, he married a second generation Hungarian lady, Ethel Olga Gergely, at Gary, with Dr. István Szabó officiating. (Mrs. Molnár earned a master's degree from the Chicago Institute of Art, and was active in the local YWCA.) Rev. Molnár was an effective and faithful pastor, and his eloquent sermons attracted attention in the larger Gary community. He was a frequent guest speaker of service organizations and the media most favorably reported his speeches before the Kiwanis Club of Crown Point and other agencies. (At one of these occasions, he introduced himself by saying: "I am Lajos Molnár, Hungarian, Christian, Man.") While at Gary, he continued his theological education and became a doctoral candidate at the University of Chicago. The topic of his proposed doctoral dissertation was: "Christian and Secular Interpretation of Democracy." The 1956 Hungarian Revolution found Molnár in Gary. He became an active sponsor of several Hungarian refugees, who arrived during the last weeks of that year. Molnár, however, accepted a new pastorate in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in January, 1957. The new pastor immediately devoted much energy and time into receiving and assisting scores of Hungarian refugees, who arrived in the Milwaukee area. His devotion to the welfare of his fellow countrymen, his effectiveness as counselor and guide gained Molnár admiration and respect in a wide circle of church and community life. He was granted United States citizenship in the Fall of 1957. It was not long when another church requested his services. He was called and installed at the Hungarian Evangelical and Reformed Church of Dayton in January, 1958. He served that congregation faithfully until 1965. During these years he increasingly became aware that his faculties were diminishing. Slowly and silently the torture and suffering in Hungarian and Yugoslav prisons eroded his energies and his health declined. Ultimately, his prison and labor camp experiences reduced him to a man who could not be pastoral, caring and intellectually creative. With a broken spirit he felt that under the circumstances he could no longer serve his flock and resigned the Dayton pastorate. He retrained himself, moved to New York City where he was active in the business world. While there, he served as supply pastor of the First Hungarian Reformed Church (1969-1972). Mrs. Molnár passed away in February, 1971. Shortly after that Molnár suffered a nervous breakdown from which he never recovered. Their children were cared for at the Bethlen Home where Albert spent two and Louise five years. During his last years Molnár was a resident of an institution in Far Rockaway, N.Y, where he died on March 24,1995. The Reverend Lajos Molnár is one of the countless silent victims of inhuman treatment of this brutal, prodigal 20th century, whose life could never be rebuilt. The thorns of life wounded him deeply, the talent that God crafted into him, man's inhumanity destroyed. His early and untimely loss as a pastor to the Hungarian Reformed Churches, and as a human being to his family and children was nothing short of tragic. Thus the life of a promising, formerly creative and serving pastor has come to an end. He is survived by a daughter, Louise Molnár, and a son, Albert Steg, who was adopted by his aunt and uncle. May God give him the rest which he could not attain in this earthly pilgrimage. Necrology written by Rev. Dr. László Kovács Prof. Em., Pastor of Gary (IN) church
