Calvin Synod Herald, 1996 (96. évfolyam, 1-6. szám)

1996-07-01 / 4. szám

CALVIN SYNOD HERALD

AMERIKAI MAGYAR REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA- 4 -MOMENTOUS PROCLAMATION OF SYNOD IN AN HISTORICAL YEAR!

RESOLUTION #1

of the Calvin Synod Conference of the United Church of Christ at their yearly meeting held in Ligonier, PA May 21-24, 1996

WHEREAS the great majority of the Calvin Synod membership considers Hungary as the homeland of their ancestors, which in 1996 celebrates the millecentennarium of the establishment of its nation;

WHEREAS Hungary accepted Christianity in the year 1000 AD, and subsequently was greatly influenced by the Protestant Reformation. In Hungary, - for the first time in Europe- the Reformation gave birth to a unique proclamation of religious freedom and tolerance at the National Assembly in Torda, Transylvania, in the year 1568;

WHEREAS a large number of Hungarians immigrated to the United Strates, and those in the Reformed tradition established over 200 congregations across the land;

WHEREAS we, who are their descendants, express our great concern over the lack of basic civil and human rights of the Hungarians living in the successor states of the pre- World War I Hungary. The Hungarians are long time residents of these areas for over a 1000 years.

BE IT RESOLVED that we appeal to the conscience of the leaders of the world's polical, religious, social and economic institutions to place on their agenda a review of the lack of civil liberties, including the free public use of their native tongue, freedom of local self-government, and the ownership and management of church presses and schools. These conditions are particularly distressful for Hungarian minorities living in Romania, Slovakia, the Ukraine and in Yugoslavia;

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the political, civil and religious rights of the Hungarian minorities must be protected without delay, in order to secure their survival as a distinct and rightful minority;

RESOLUTION #2

We urge our churches to commemorate in their congregations, or jointly with other local Hungarian churches and organizations, the millecentennial of the establishment of the Hungarian nation, the millennium of the first school in Hungary, and the 40th anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian Revolution and Freedom-fight, and to use these occasions for appropriate bi-lingual press releases so the media could take notice of these important events.

"Years of Transition: A Brief History of tf?e Hungarian Reformed dyurct) in tfje United States from 1918 to t()e Tiffin Agreement"

Fragments from recent lecture given by Rev. Dr. Anthony Szilágyi of Bridgeport, CT before Historical Society

(Continued from our last issue)

Count Degenfeld reinforced these sentiments during a meeting he had with Zoltán Kuthy in Hungary a short time later. The conventus expected compliance by Kuthy and the others because it was "the least the American Hungarian congregations could do for their homeland and mother church." Still, the Magyar pastors resisted the pressure of the conventus. Therefore, Pelényi's meetings in the United States did not resolve the impasse between the conventus and its charges in America over the issue of which American denomination they should join. In order to facilitate the process whereby a solution could be found, the conventus invited both American denominations to send repül. World Convention of the Hungarian Reformed Churches

Pre-eminent events in the Partium - Synod of Királyhágó (Headquarters at Oradea with Dr. László Tőkés as bishop) and Transylvanian Synod (Headquarters at Kolozsvár, Cluj with Dr. Kálmán Csiha as bishop.)

Solemn Opening Service on Augusl 3, 1996 at Oradea (Nagyvárad)

Solemn Closing Service on August 10, 1996 at Siátul-gheorghe (Sepsiszentgyörgy)

Ecumenical Seervices all week long at locations of the two Synods.

Following services from August 10-12, 1996 at Budapest, Debrecen, Kecskéméi and Sárospatak in Hungary; Komárom in Slovakia and Beregszász in the Carpatho- Ukraine.

"Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us!" (Psalm XC. 17).

Arrangements through MRETZS

(Hungarian Reformed General Konvent ■ Consultative Synod). Abonyi út 21, 144C Budapest, Hungary.

resentatives to Hungary. In July, 192C Dr. Arthur J. Brown, representing the Presbyterian Church, and Dr. James I. Good, of the Reformed Church in the United States, held meetings with officials of the conventus in Budapest. The result of these sessions was a document termed The Budapest Agreement. A key sentence, which woulc have implications for the immigranl pastors, it contained in Item One which states; "it being left to the twc American denominations to decide among themselves which of thenr would admit the congregations ir questions." Evidently, the Magyar con gregations were not to have a say ae to which denomination they joined.