Magyar Egyház, 1957 (36. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1957-10-01 / 10. szám
8 MAGYAR EGYHÁZ MAGYAR CHURCH ANNIVERSARY -In these days people of the world who love freedom and who have freedom to express this love observe the first anniversay of the 1956 Hungarian uprising. In these days in churches prayers are raised, prayers of thanksgiving that the Spirit of God keeps alive love for freedom, fidelity to ideals and courage to fight under the most ruthless oppression, and prayers of intercession for the liberation of a gallant nation whose soul the jailers want to kill. In these days mass-meetings are held where the story of October-November, 1956 is being retold pounding at the conscience of the world that the ways and means of liberation must be found for tyranny is insatiable. But besides these corporate observances of the anniversary there must be an individual appraisal of the ideals of the 1956 Hungarian uprising. Each and everyone of us must rethink for himself such questions and answers like: What does freedom mean to ME? Do I realize that I cannot be really free if others are enslaved? Do I realize that although this world is artificially divided, still, it is one world, so much so that NO ONE can sit back as an innocent spectator? What have I already done and what am I willing to do to alleviate the sufferings of those who are oppressed, tortured and deprived of their human dignity? Each and everyone of us must realize that, looking at the situation behind the Iron Curtain from a higher viewpoint, the suffering of Hungarians, Poles, East Germans and of others is a kind of vicarious suffering for us: while they are suffering we are free and are able to pursue our personal happiness freely. Most of the readers of this column have relatives back in the old-country. Some have their parents there, or brothers, or sisters, others only distant relations whom they have never met. Whether close or distant these relations are, is beside the point. Important, however, is this: do we think that we have a better life than they because we are better than they? We can reverse the question: do they suffer so much because they are not as good as we are? We as children of the Reformation profess the sovereignty of God. We don’t question His ways but we search to understand them. Since the answer to the above questions must be “no", that is we are NOT better, they are NOT worse, we must search after another explanation: why are we spared? Here is at least one answer to this: in order to be free witnesses. We have a chance to demonstrate and to prove what it means to have a social and spiritual order based and built upon the idea of faith in man’s good will; a social and spiritual order in which compassion is man’s primary motive, and fair play, honesty, tolerance and willingness to help others are the characteristics of human relations. On the anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian uprising we must realize that our precious social and spiritual order, our way of life is here to stay only if all people of the world can enjoy the same. And it is up to us to help them get it. Andrew Harsanyi. REPORT ON REFUGEES The World Council of Churches Administrative Committee at its meeting October 8-9 in Geneva, Switzerland reviewed the refugee situation and learned that $883,676 had been given by churches in thirty nations in response to last autumn’s appeal for aid to Hungary and other Easter European countries. At the same time, the committee was told that $290,118 had been given in answer to a second appeal to aid Hungarian refugees and churches in Hungary and Poland. Projects have included the feeding centre in Vienna which still serves from 1,500 to 2,000 meals every day to refugees; emergency service along the border; providing text books for middle schools in Austria where unaccompanied children who left Hungary are studying; buying a home at Attersee, Austria, for boys and another at Innsbruck for girls. In addition, a home at Badgastein has been rented and equiped and is being used as a girls’ home and between 60 and 75 boys have been placed in the Spittal Vocational Training School. Fifteen Hungarian theological students who left Hungary have been provided with scholarships to continue their studies. The students are studying in Australia, Canada, United States, Germany, Switzerland, Denmark and Austria. Dr. Leslie E. Cooke, director of the Division, commented that all the students have had provisions made for them. “It was not always possible to make the arrangements that they wanted, but they are able to continue their studies.” Ordination of the Rev. Kálmán Adorján by the Rt. Rev. Zoltán Béky
