Calvin Synod Herald, 1997 (97. évfolyam, 1-6. szám)
1997-03-01 / 2. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD- U -AMERIKAI MAGYAR REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA Pastor’s Conference on the Hungarian Reformed Mission to be Held in Fony, Hungary, May 23-25 Conference to Honor Rev. Gabriel Dokus, Sr., Missionary from Fony to the USA A conference on the Hungarian Reformed mission in Hungary and its neighboring countries, in the United States and other countries of the world, will be held in Fony, Hungary, May 23- 25,1997. The conference is sponsored by the Fony Mission House, of which the Rev. Stephen Bojtor is the director. Rev. Bojtor is also the president of the Hungarian Reformed Home Mission Society. Bishop István Mészáros of Miskolc and Bishop László Tokes of Romania, who is now the president of the Hungarian Reformed World Federation, will participate in the conference. Formal sessions on Friday and Saturday morning, May 23-24, will be both historical and theological in nature, glancing at the past, considering the present and looking to the future of the Hungarian Reformed mission at home and abroad, focusing on the diaspora. The Sunday morning service, with the Lord's Supper, will be followed on Sunday afternoon by a service in memory of the Rev. Gabriel Dokus, Sr., the dedication of the Dokus memorial and the opening of the Dokus exhibition at Fony Mission House. The conference will be held in memory of the Rev. Gabriel Dokus, Sr. (1861-1936), who was the village schoolmaster in Fony when he was called to be the pastor of the Hungarian Reformed Church in South Norwalk, Connecticut, in 1893, the third Hungarian Reformed Church to be established in the United States. At the same time, Rev. Dokus also served as supply pastor of the First Hungarian Reformed Church in Bridgeport, Connecticut, until that congregation secured its own pastor two years later. The Board of Home Missions of the Reformed Church in the United States also asked Rev. Dokus to give oversight to Hungarian Reformed communities extending from Trenton, New Jersey, to Sydney, Nova Scotia, a distance of over 1,000 miles. In his missionary endeavors, he assisted in the establishment of a number of Hungarian Reformed Churches in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut and journeyed by train and boat to visit Hungarians and their families in Sydney. Rev. Dokus was among the founders of the Hungarian Reformed Federation of America, which recently observed its 100th anniversary. Information may be secured from the Rev. Dr. Theodore S. Horvath, a grandson of Rev. Dokus serving as the U.S. liaison for Rev. Bojtor, at 1353 Valley Forge Road, Wayne, PA 19087, (610) 688-3458. □QQ GENERAL ELECTION IN THE HUNGARIAN REFORMED CHURCH The First Results Have Been Released In keeping with the new electoral law of the Hungarian Reformed Church, the general election has been being held since September, 1996, according to the principle of progressivity. In both the seniorates and the four church districts, the elections were performed before the end of the year. The results were released on December 22nd. In the Danubian Church District (seat: Budapest) incumbent bishop Dr. Lorant Hegedűs was elected bishop by 267 votes out of the total 320. Dr. Lajos Fur, Director of the Raday Collections, became general curator who received 268 votes. Sándor Toth, pastor from Sarkeresztur was elected deputy bishop by 168 votes, and by 146 votes, Dr. István Mészáros, Jr., curator of the Budapest-Buda congregation became deputy general curator. In the Cistibiscan Church District (seat: Miskolc) incumbent bishop Dr. István Mészáros and incumbent general curator Daniel Szabó were voted in again, while Dr. Tibor Rozsa was elected deputy general curator. Because of the insufficient number of votes, a new round will be held for the position of deputy bishop. (No number of votes and proportional number of votes were reported by the Church District Electoral Committee.) In the Transtibiscan Church District (seat: Debrecen) Dr. Gustav Bolcskey, professor of theology, was elected bishop by 417 votes. Dr. Akos Bodnar, head physician, incumbent general curator, became the new general curator by 465 votes. László Nagy, senior minister, was elected deputy bishop by 460 votes, and Dr. András Arday, former curator of the Csenger seniorate, became deputy general curator by 390 votes. In the Transdanubian Church District (seat: Veszprém) Dr. Mihály Markus, incumbent bishop, kept his position, just as well as Dr. Attila Kalman, Principle of the Reformed secondary school in Papa, remained general curator, while Geza Tisler, earlier Csopak pastor and Dr. Lajos Hodossy (Veszprém) were re-elected deputy bishop and deputy general curator, respectively. (No number of votes and proportional number of votes were reported by the Church District Electoral Committee). Pursuant to the church electoral law in force, the above results are to be supervised by the concerned church district general assemblies, and if no circumstances influence the purity of the elections, the elected officials will be confirmed and installed. This will follow in the coming weeks. After that, the first session of the General Synod will be convened by February 28,1997, where the new officials will also be elected, and thus, the new church executives can commence their legal activity in the new term. Reformed Press The solution to the Bible Riddle on page 9 of our last Issue is: WHALE!
