Calvin Synod Herald, 2017 (118. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
2017-07-01 / 7-8. szám
10 CALVIN SYNOD HERALD Niagara Falls conference commemorating the 500th Anniversary of the Reformation The 500th Anniversary of the Reformation on the North American continent was held at Mt. Carmel Spiritual Center in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada between June 7th-9th. First and foremost, we would to thank Rev. Zoltán Vass and his wife Jozefina, the First Flungarian Reformed Church of Toronto, and the organizing committee for their selfless work and dedication in putting this special commemoration together. In retrospect, now we can say, that it was not only a well spent time together but it was truly a time when we shared our faith and learned to grow through each other’s faith. Guests for this special occasion came from beyond the North American Continent from all around the world. What made this celebration special was that such highranking individuals stood among the sponsors as: Mr. Viktor Orbán, Prime Minister of Hungary, Mr. László Rover, Speaker of the Hungarian Parliament, Rev.Zoltan Balogh, Minister of Human Resources, Ms. Katalin Novak. Minister responsible for the International Affairs of Family and Youth, Rt. Rev. István Szabó, presiding Bishop of the Hungarian Reformed Church, Rt. Rev. Bela Kato, Bishop of the Hungarian Reformed Church in Transylvania, Rt. Rev. Janos Szeverenyi, Mission coordinator of the Hungarian Lutheran Church, Dr. Stefánia Szabó, Ambassador of Hungary to Canada, Rita Kiss, Consul General of Hungary to Canada, and Dr. Ferenc Kumi, Consul General to the United States in New York City. The 500th anniversary celebration was around the 5 SOLA’s or 5 Pillars of the Reformation, which were remembered in all our devotional or worship experiences by every sermon or lecture that was presented. The opening day, our morning devotional focused on the continuing work of the Reformation SEMPER REFORMANDA delivered by Rt. Rev. Sándor Szabó, former Bishop of the Hungarian Reformed Church in America. The devotional was conducted by pastors of the Hungarian Reformed Clergy in America. The afternoon we gathered for a round table discussion with our special guests from Hungary, the Rt. Rev. István Szabó, President Bishop of the Reformed Church of Hungary, and Rt. Rev. Bela Kato, Bishop of the Reformed Church in Transylvania. In the discussion, special mention was made on the relationship between the Hungarian Reformed Churches in Hungary and the neighboring countries with Hungarian Reformed Churches and the diaspora. The evening devotionals were conducted by the Canadian Hungarian Reformed Ministers about SOLA FIDE. The sermon was delivered by Rev. Miklós Szigeti of the Reformed Church of Vancouver. 1 would like to also mention that special musical presentations were made by St. Martin or Mr. Imre Szentmartoni playing his panflute. The evening program concluded with a candlelight piano concert by Ilona Tünde Krasznai in the sanctuary. The Thursday morning devotional was conducted by the Hungarian Evangelical pastors on the topic of SOLA GRACIA. The sermon was delivered by Rev. Janos Szeverenyi, missionary pastor from Hungary. This day also marked the opening of displays by: András Simon, graphic artist, picture gallery of Dr. Zoltán Abram on the life of the American and Canadian congregations and Rev. Zoltán Lizik displayed his stamps collection on the Reformation. Rev. Dr. Eva Kadar gave a review of her up-coming book, Mrs. Noemi Abram also introduced her new book. The highlight of the entire conference was Thursday. The main event of this day was worship service conducted in two parts. The Open-Air Church Service started at 3:00 pm. In the early afternoon buses arrived írom the nearby congregations which raised the attendance to about 250. The Open-Air service offered an English presentation on the Reformation. In some way, this was a precious time for those in attendance who did not speak the Hungarian language, since all other events were presented in Hungarian. Signaling the beginning of the service was the ringing of bells and blowing trumpets. The opening hymn was “Fel Barátim Draga Jézus” accompanied by the Baptist Brass Band. The Opening Remarks were delivered by Rev. Zoltán Balog, whom I introduced earlier. In his speech, he addressed the accomplishments of the elected party and Hungary’s role in keeping in touch and caring for our people throughout the world. A poem recitation was offered by Karola Torok. It seemed that God had truly heard our prayers for the heavens opened with a beautiful blue sky. The liturgical part of the worship service was conducted by the Bishops of the two denominations in the United States, namely Rt. Rev. Dr. Csaba Krasznai, Bishop of the Calvin Synod of the United Church of Christ, and Rt. Rev. Ferenc Varga, Bishop of the Hungarian Reformed
