Magyar Egyház, 1957 (36. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1957-06-01 / 6-7. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 13 Because he loves God and wants to thank God for his salvation, and there is only one way to manifest our love and gratitude toward God: to try to live by his commandments every day. “This is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.” 1 John 5:3. The life of a true Reformed Christian is full of good works and earnest intentions of doing the will of God never for rewards but from love and gratitude towards God. Therefore, he is not tired of doing good even if there is no reward of his good works. It is also true, however, that God from his grace and fatherly love will bless in His own way those who sincerely strive to fulfill His commandments, even He strengthens them to be more and more successful in their honest efforts. Also, it is true that God as a good Father will visit with His punishments those of His children who wilfully neglect their duties toward their Creator and their fellowmen. God is punishing them from love and through His punishments He leads them back to the right way of life. “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor lose courage when you are punished by him. He disciplines us for our good...” Hebr. 12:5,10. “It was for my welfare that I had great bitterness but Thou hast held back my life from the pit of destruction.” Isaiah 38:17. God freely, from his grace, for the sake of His Son, Jesus, forgives our sins and gives us eternal life, and we thank Him for this by our everyday effort to live by his most holy commandments. Stephen Kovács Resettlement of Children The Committee on Resettlement Services of the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. hopes, through Church World Service, to be able to bring to this country Hungarian refugee children between the ages of 12 and 16 who are now in Austria and who have relatives in this country. Information needed by the Committee: 1. Name of Child, Address in Austria, Age of Child 2. Name of Relative in the United States, Address, Relationship (liberally interpreted) 3. Church Relationship, if any. This information should be sent to the Committee on Resettlement Service, Presbyterian Church, Room 520, 156 Fifth Avenue, New York 10, New York. Church World Service will accept requests in letter form stating that the child (give specific name and present address) will be permanently cared for; we will require that these letters be endorsed by a local church which will agree to help fulfill the obligations involved and these letters which do not come via denominational offices will be referred to the proper Denomination for follow-up. It is understood that these children, if brought to the United States, will not be for adoption but will be supported by their sponsoring relatives until they attain to the age of self support. To facilitate matters, we are told that in addition to sponsorship by relatives endorsement of such sponsorship by a local church will also be necessary. NEWS FROM HUNGARIAN REFORMED CHURCHES AND PEOPLE Pastor Lajos Gulyás, of the Reformed Church of Hungary, has been condemned to death after a forthnight’s trial of Hungarian “counter-revolutionaries” at Győr, in western Hungary. According to Western press reports and the Hungarian paper “Keletmagyarország”, Pastor István Ban, of the Hungarian Reformed congregation at Nyíregyháza, has been condemned to five years’ imprisonment for being involved in the October revolution last year and other pastors have recently been brought before the police for examination. (E.P.S.) The “Hungarian Church Press” has resumed publication under the editorship of a group of Reformed, Lutheran and Free Church leaders. The free churches are represented on the panel by Pastor László Szabó, national president of the Baptist Churches. The theological periodical of the Lutheran Church, “Lelkipásztor”, has also appeared under the editorship of Pastor Imre Veoreos, recently-appointed principal of the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Budapest. The Protestant churches broadcast services in turn on Sunday mornings through the Budapest “Petőfi” station. The Reformed Church has 109 theological students in training, including thirty-nine new students. Paper supplied with the help of the World Council of Churches’ Division of Inter-Church Aid will be used to publish 200,000 copies of the new Reformed hymn book. Dr. István Bibo, son-in-law of Bishop László Ravasz, a well-known layman in the Hungarian Reformed Church and a member of the cabinet of Dr. Imre Nagy during last year’s revolt, has been arrested. Dr. Bibo, who was for many years an active member of the National Peasant’s Party and a former Professor of Sociology at the University of Szeged, was the only member of the Nagy government who did not seek refuge in a foreign embassy at the time of the revolt and has been living since then in his own home. The Hungarian government has promised that representatives form the Hungarian Lutheran Church, including Bishop Lajos Ordass, may attend the Third Assembly of the Lutheran World Federation in Minneapolis, Minn., USA, from August 15-25, Dr. Carl E. Lund-Quist, LWF executive secretary, announced upon his arrival in Vienna after a five-day visit to Budapest. “I am now in a position to announce that Bishop Ordass will preach the opening sermon at the Assembly,” Dr. Lund-Quist said during a press conference in Vienna. Dr. Lund-Quist also reported that Bishop Zoltán Turóczy was installed in his office as Bishop of the Northern District. Lutheran and Reformed theological classes will begin soon. Thirty-three of the “pre-revolution” enrollmen of thirty-six Lutheran students and all the professors are expected to return. Dr. Lund-Quist reported on his visit to the Executive Committee of the World Council of Churches. E.P.S., Geneva
