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

1996-11-01 / 6. szám

CALVIN SYNOD HERALD- 5 -AMERIKAI MAOYAR REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA

Thousands Celebrate Hungarian Reformed United

Crowd Worship in Stadiums and Big Churches

Rev. Albert W. Kovács - Dean of the Eastern Classis - Delegate of the Calvin Synod

You should have been there! Big -1 mean BIG - Hungarian Reformed % . churches. Not

hundreds, but THOUSANDS of Hungarian Reformed church members at worship. And ministers in procession by the dozens. Imagine!

Was I surprised during my trip this summer as a Calvin Synod delegate to the III Hungarian Reformed World Federation convention, in Hungary and Romania. I was so proud to be a part of this very alive branch of the one holy Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Forty years of Communism in Hungary, and secular humanism in western countries like our own, had taken its toll, but the people of God have not yielded and still stand tall.

There we were in Nagyvarad (Oredea in Romania) with well over 15,000 Reformed church members and other Christian friends in a stadium on a hot Saturday afternoon in August. Twentyfive communion tables were set up on the field, with the elements of bread and wine readied for consecration, and three or four ministers at each table to serve the sacrament of grace to long lines of solemn communicants. Our own Bishop Francis Vitéz from the Calvin Synod, and Bishop Lorant Hegedűs, President of the Hungarian Reformed World Synod, led the communion liturgy, following several hours of sermons and greetings by other dignitaries.

That was so great we did it again the next Saturday, but this time at Sepsiszentgyorgy in the heart of Transylvania. It was hot again, but about 8,000 crowded the local stadium to hear the ministers from around the world and to receive Holy Communion. Bishop László Tokes, who was just elected the new President of the Federation, was lustily greeted by the crowd. They recognized his role as the church leader who’s courage brought down the Red dynasty in Romania, and led to Communism’s fall all over Eastern Europe.

Oh, but there was more, much more. During the week a wonderful ecumenical service was held in Temesvár. Local rabbis, Orthodox prelates, Hungarian and Romanian and German dignitaries of the Roman and Greek Catholic churches joined the Reformed bishops and deans in common praise, and a united plea for religious freedom in countries still led by atheist governments. With all these offering benedictions pronounced in Hebrew, Romanian, German, Slovak and Hungarian,

I was please to be able to offer one in English for those of us who know this as our first language.

You should see the church at Kolozsvár. And it was full, with extra seats set in the chancel for so many ministers and colleagues, as well as ecumenical visitors. After the service Bishop Vitéz was pleasantly surprised to meet a member of his own family, who had come from Hungary to attend the service. I myself was surprised in several places, both in Romania and Hungary, to meet some Reformed members from our churches.

By the way, anyone who heard or donated to the Kolozsvár Choir, when they came to America several years ago, would have been pleased to see the school’s new dormitory you helped to build. A reception was held there in the evening and we had a good look at it.

But there was still more! In Marosvasarhely there’s a big fort, and inside its walls was another huge Reformed church - jammed full of people.

They were standing in the aisles, in

front of the pews, all around the Lord’s Table area, and three large choirs crammed behind in the apse. Even then not everyone qot in, and loud speakers served those outside. I’m sure it must have been well over a thousand. One little boy squeezed in by me in the choir section, where I sat in the first seat close to the pews. He couldn’t see, so I motioned him to step up on the raised floor by me. Lo and behold, he spoke English! When they announced the hymns, he found them in my Hungarian hymnal and we sang together (Hungarian is phonetic and easy to read). Earlier in the week a big statue of Susanna Lorantffy had been dedicated in Nagyvarad by Bishop Tokes.

One of the events that impressed me the most happened on the last Saturday in Sepsiszentgyorgy. In the morning we dedicated a new church, one of more than twenty Reformed churches built in Romania since the revolt. It was a glorious sight to see over fifty ministers in procession to the church, led by costumed young ladies and dozens of scouts, and hundreds already inside. But the highlight for me was the baptism of seven babies by Bishop Kalman Csiha. I took a picture of each one as the families left to make room for yet others. Both he and Bishop Hegedűs denounced the practice of abortion and pleaded that young people would bring their God-given children to the Father’s church instead.

At this church, and another dedication we attended in Szatmarnemeti, one could grasp again the sense of Reformed unity even beyond Hungarian heritage. Here a Dutch pastor and Chief Elder participated in the service, whose congregation had given well over thirty thousand dollars for the new building. The Szatmarnemeti church had also received thousands from a Swiss Reformed congregation, and its minister and Christian Education director were present for the ceremony. Reformed churches in these and other European countries are seriously involved in rebuilding Christian life in the Reformed life in the Reformed churches of the former satellite nations.

To Be Continued in Our Next Issue