Calvin Synod Herald, 2007 (108. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2007-01-01 / 1-2. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD 1 By mid-1956 these conditions created a volatile situation. On October 23rd workers and students took to the streets of Budapest and other major population centers. A set of ‘Sixteen Points’ was issued which demanded personal freedom, more food, the elimination of the secret police, the removal of Soviet troops from Hungary. During the mass demonstrations the Security Police fired upon the crowd and violence erupted throughout the capital. The revolt spread quickly across the country, and the government fell. Thousands organized into militias battling the secret police and the Soviet troops. At the same time political prisoners were released during which hundreds were found in the underground tunnels that connected bunkers built during World War II. Many of those who were located - in destitute condition - were already presumed dead. The new government disbanded the secret police, declared its intention to withdraw from the Warsaw Pact, and pledged to reestablish free elections. By the end of October the fighting had almost stopped and a sense of normalcy began to return. Despite agreeing to a ceasefire, Moscow moved to squash the revolution, and prepared a second invasion. On November 4, a large 60,000 member veteran Soviet force surrounded Budapest using artillery and air-strikes, killing thousands of civilians. The Russians deployed 2,000 tanks, the same number that Hitler sent to subdue Paris in 1940. The untrained and ill-equipped Hungarians were no match to the overwhelming elite Soviet forces. Organized resistance ceased by November 10 and starting with members of the provisional government large-scale arrests began. By January 1957 the Soviet-installed new government had suppressed public opinion. While the best of the Hungarian youth were bleeding away the whole world was watching. President Eisenhower said: “I feel with the Hungarian people.” He was running for reelection and was not prepared for any action. Britain, France, and the United States concentrated their resources on the Suez Crisis. They did nothing except offer moral support and condemn Russia. The Soviet invasion alienated many Western Marxists, yet strengthened Soviet control over Central and Eastern Europe, cultivating the perception that communism was irreversible and monolithic. After the closure of the Revolution an estimated 350 accused participants were executed. Many of the young people lingered in prison until they reached the age of 18 on to have the inhumane sentence then be carried out. By 1963 most of the surviving political prisoners from the 1956 Revolution had been released. Public discussion about the Revolution was suppressed in Hungary for over thirty years. Two hundred thousand refugees escaped into Austria and Yugoslavia, and eventually started new lives in other parts of the world; 40,000 of whom entered the United States. Arthur Koestler (1905-1983) the Hungarian-born author of Darkness at Noon, remarked on the brain-drain Hungary experienced as the outcome of the Revolution: “Not since the fall of Byzantium in 1453, have such a great migration of intellectuals occurred in the history of mankind as the one from Hungary after 1956.” The 1956 Revolution was the child of the desperate human spirit. Its outcome was a tragic defeat; at least 20,000 Hungarian workers and students were killed, countless others injured, imprisoned or forced into exile. It nevertheless was undoubtedly the most significant pointer to future developments in Soviet dominated states. The tremendous inspiring events of the Hungarian October are full of lessons. It was the first war between two communist states, and Hungary showed the world that ten million desperate people can stand up against the Soviets. Centuries consist of moments. We live on borrowed time as civilized people who everywhere study the rhythm of history. Historians are occupied with the reverberation of centuries and reinterpret anew, as they should, past events for every generation. While history does not repeat itself, certain conditions do, and if we analyze these patterns carefully they make us ponder how the human race survived the twentieth century, and what is the essence of being human in our time. Whatever is the course of events we should recall the Roman proverb: “History is the teacher of life,” but we have yet to learn that ultimately - there are no ‘winners’ in wars - the entire human family suffers. László Kovács West Lafayette, Indiana (765) 463-5078 The Content of Aaron’s Rod The tensions and trials facing our church seem almost insurmountable. What are we to do? Dr. Richard Bacon, a Reformed Presbyterian scholar, has briefly, amazingly briefly, summarized the story of Puritanism from Hampton Court to Westminster and kindly set polity in context. Historically, these men influenced the churches of Hungary. Puritan names and ideas long forgotten in America remain part of the curriculum in Kolozsvár. It is important to remember the days of greatness. It is even more important to relive the greatness which made the days great. Fraternally in Christ, Dr. Edwin P. Elliott, Editor Forty Years of Preaching The Puritans finally got an audience! More than a 1,000 Puritan preachers sent a petition to the newly crowned King James I for the redress of certain grievances regarding the English Church. The date was April 1603, and because of the number of the signers this document came to be known as the “Millenary Petition.” Many of the requests had to do with practices such as wearing caps and surplices, the cross in baptism, use of a ring in weddings, etc.; but one very important request merited a paragraph of its own. “Concerning Church Ministers: that none hereafter be admitted into the ministry but able and sufficient men, and continued on page 8
