Calvin Synod Herald, 2010 (111. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2010-09-01 / 9-10. szám
10 CALVIN SYNOD HERALD 3Jn Jltemortam The Rt. Reverend Dr. John Butosi, age 90 of Shelton, Connecticut, husband of the late Lorraine Nickel Butosi, went home to the Lord on July 12, 2010. Funeral services were held on Saturday, July 17, 2010 at the United Church of Christ, Bridgeport, CT at 11 AM with the Rt. Rev. Koloman K. Ludwig, Bishop Emeritus officiating. Lesko & Polke Funeral Home hosted calling hours on Friday evening. Burial was at the Ligonier Valley Cemetery on Friday, August 6, 2010, where he joined his loving wife Lorraine. Bom December 18, 1919 in Nyirgyulaj, Hungary to the late Michael and Elizabeth Becsei Butosi, young John was accepted into the Hungarian Royal Kossuth State Reálgimnázium of Cegled where he studied from 1931 to 1939, receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree. He then followed his Calling to the Tisza István University in Debrecen which was interrupted by the WWII, when he received his orders to join the Hungarian army. After the American liberation, he eventually returned to Debrecen, where he had received his Bachelor of Divinity degree in 1943, and Master of Divinity degree and Certificate of Ministerial Qualification in 1946. In December 1947 his journey led him to America, locating in Texas at the Austin Presbyterian Seminary briefly, then to the Princeton Theological Seminary, receiving his Master of Theology degree in 1949. He intended to return to Hungary but was denied re-entry by the Communist Hungarian Government. Rev. Butosi was elected to his first Pastorate at the First Hungarian Evangelical Reformed Church of Hammond, Indiana (1950-1955). He met and married Lorraine Nickel in 1953 and in 1955 accepted the Pastorate of the First Hungarian Evangelical & Reformed Church of McKeesport, PA (1955-1959). He also attended the University of Pittsburgh receiving his Doctor of Philosophy. Rev. Butosi then became the Pastor of the Hungarian Reformed Church of Norwalk, CT serving from 1960 until 1976 when he was elected Pastor of the United Church of Christ in Bridgeport where he served until his retirement from Pastoral ministry in 1989. The Butosi’s bought their home in Ligonier, PA but spent much of his “retirement “ traveling extensively in the United States, Canada, Europe (especially Hungary and Romania), Central America, South America, Africa and Australia. Dr. Butosi returned to Debrecen as a guest lecturer in 1990, after the collapse of the Communist regime, on the call of the Reformed Church in Hungary. After a semester of intensive teaching activity, he was invited to serve as a professor of the Debrecen Reformed Theological Academy. At age 72, he was ready to accept this call and he led the Department of Mission and Ecumenical Studies until his retirement in 1998. Dr. Butosi fundamentally restructured the curriculum of his department. He introduced new courses on missiology and church growth in order to prepare the students for a faithful and relevant ministry in the present day local and global context. These courses are still taught today according to guidelines he set, by his former student and apt successor in the Chair of the Department, Dr. Sándor Gaal. Dr. Butosi’s pioneering textbooks on missology and on church growth theory and practice are parts of the obligatory reading material for the students even today. Dr. Butosi donated his entire salary back to the college for the ten years he taught there. The Butosi Mission Fund supports generously the work of the Department of Missiology. He was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Divinity degree and the Szenei Molnár Albert Prize. In 2000, he rejoined his daughter and son in law at the newly built addition of their home in Shelton, CT and shortly thereafter was awarded Pastor Emeritus of the United Church of Christ in Bridgeport. In his Ministry, Rev. Butosi served not only his Congregations, but his local and worldwide communities as he served as President of the International Institute of Connecticut, in the Calvin Synod Conference of the UCC, Secretary, Deputy Bishop, President- Bishop and Bishop Emeritus. He was the first President of the Hungarian Reformed World Federation (President Emeritus). He served on the Executive Council of the National and World Council of Churches of the World Alliance of Reformed Churches. He also was elected to the Board of Directors of the American Hungarian Foundation. He supervised pastoral students at Yale University and was an Adjunct professor of Hungarian Studies at Sacred Heart University. He was also the author of several books, mostly in Hungarian and published his autobiography in English “Praise the Lord, O My Soul” in 2007. Rev. Butosi will be lovingly remembered as a Man of God, first and foremost, but also as a loving and supportive husband, father and grandfather. He will be greatly missed and remembered by many. He leaves behind his daughter, Ann Elizabeth Balias and her husband James of Shelton and grandchildren Matthew and Erica Balias as well as several nieces and nephews in Hungary. He was pre-deceased by his wife Lorraine, daughter Sarah Joan Lynch, brothers Steve, Mihály and Michael and sisters Julie, Elizabeth and Gisella, all of Hungary. John dedicated his life to mission. At the Holy Fast held in Ligonier, PA on September 2-3, 2002, John made mission the third section of the program. He said, “mission is the participation of Christians in the delivering mission of Jesus... it is the good news of God’s love incarnate in the witness of the community for the world’s sake. The first task of our mission is to witness to our own society in readiness to help the needy with love and care.” To keep his dream alive, we are establishing the John Butosi Memorial Mission Fund to be administrated by the Calvin Synod Conference Council for needy mission projects. Contributions may be sent to the John Butosi Memorial Mission Fund, c/o Calvin Synod, Treasurer, 1836 Timothy Drive, West Mifflin, PA 15122.The life of Rev. Dr. John Butosi was all about his ministry and service to the Lord, Jesus Christ. He often instructed his students to combine “undisputable knowledge with unshakeable faith.” His last book, “Praise the Lord, O My Soul,” tells of his
