Magyar Egyház, 1958 (37. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1958-10-01 / 10. szám
10 MAGYAR EGYHÁZ Dr. George Kennedy Allen Bell, honorary president of the World Council of Churches since 1954, died at Canterbury, England, on October 3. The general secretary of the World Council of Churches, Dr. W. A. Visser ’t Hooft, has issued a statement on behalf of the Council, which includes 171 Protestant, Orthodox and Anglican churches in more than fifty countries. “Bishop George Bell,”—the statement said—“who had been Bishop of Chichester from 1929 till the beginning of this year, died at Canterbury at the age of 75. In him the ecumenical movement loses one of its great pioneers who gave consecrated and uninterrupted service to the cause of Christian cooperation and unity for nearly forty years. “The bishop was also a strong defender of the refugees. In the second world war his speeches—many of which were made in the House of Lords—were a constant reminder that, especially in time of war, the Christian conscience must be awake. His protests cost him a good deal of his popularity, but many saw after the war that he had been right. “Bishop Bell had taken a considerable part in the process of formation of the World Council of Churches. In 1948 he was chosen as the first chairman of its Central Committee—a post which he held till 1954 when he became the Council’s honorary president, continuing, however, to attend its meetings and taking an active part in its life. “He was equally concerned with the unity of the Church and with its task in the world. He presided over commissions on unity at two Lambeth Conferences, and published the four volumes of ‘Documents of Christian Unity.’ But his war-time speeches carry the significant title: ‘The Church and Humanity.’ He was always ready to intervene for those who were persecuted or suffering from injustice. “Bishop Bell’s sermon in Odense Cathedral, Denmark, in August, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the World Council of Churches, was his last public utterance. That sermon was on the text: ‘We are unprofitable servants.’ “The World Council loses in him its most beloved leader who had done more than anyone to create that new spirit in and between the churches of which the World Council is the living embodiment.” THE HUNGARIAN REFORMED CHURCH IN AMERICA IN THE WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES The Central Committee of the World Council of Churches, formed by 171 denominations and 160 million Christians of different races, nationalities and creeds held its annual meeting this August, in Nyborg, Denmark. One of the decisions of this meeting was the admission of the Hungarian Reformed Church in America as a new member communion in the fellowship of this great Christian body. It is with great joy that I can report this to our people. The World Council of Churches is the third international church organization in which we serve and Tepresent our precious Hungarian Reformed faith. The World Council of Churches is the great Christian enterprise of this century. Here the Christianity of the world divided and split up into different churches and denominations joins together in a common service for the Kingdom of the Lord. The Churches co-operating preserve their historical creeds, orders and particular forms of worship. Our hearts must be filled with gratitude that now our small denomination is admitted into this great fellowship. We have to accept it with thanksgiving and with the pledge that we shall fulfill all our Christian duties and commitments of the common cause. This acceptance by the World Council of Churches is the fruit of our 34 years long service, work and prayers. It was worthwhile to suffer and to fight for our historical Hungarian Reformed faith. God has called us, laymen and clergymen of our denomination for a greater sevice, now in widened horizons. Last year we were accepted as members of the National Council of Churches of Christ, the great body uniting more than forty million American Christians. Since years we serve in the fellowship of the Presbyterian World Alliance. Our mother church, the Reformed Church of Hungary has faced many persecutions during her 400 years old history. During the XVIIth century, Transylvania was the only free territory to preserve and voice freely the Hungarian Reformed faith. Now, one of the great leaders of Hungarian Calvinism sent us a message from behind the Iron Curtain: “The Hungarian Reformed Church in America is today what free Transylvania used to be for Hungarian Reformed Christianity.” It is a great privilege to be in the World Council of Churches and we promise that — besides our full co-operation in the great common service of all Christians of the world, — we shall preserve and faithfully represent our Hungarian Reformed faith and our dear people now dispersed throughout the whole world. Bishop Zoltán Béky. --------------o-------------THE “BELIEFS” OF ATHEISTIC PROPAGANDA. “Scientific atheistic propaganda” in Soviet Russia is described as both inadequate and unconvincing in current issues of Russian newspapers. The July issue of “Krasnaia Zvezda”, the USSR Army paper, carries the complaint that “scientific atheism” is failing to spread in the army. Another complaint is that there are not enough books about atheism in army libraries, and not enough requests for the books that are there. The same issue also reports that a member of a Komsomol (a Communist youth group), dropped a prayer book from his pocket while getting out money to pay his membership fee in the group. Why did the incident not cause alarm in the Communist youth headquarters, asks the paper. It goes on to insist that “every individual who has long been subject to the influence of pious people and church leaders should receive careful personal instruction” through atheistic propaganda. The June 15 issue of “Molodiosch Estonoi”, a youth paper published by the Communist party in Estonia, calls for an attack on Christians. “In our struggle with religion,” the paper says, “we must be a hundred
