Magyar Egyház, 1958 (37. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1958-04-01 / 4. szám
10 MAGYAR EGYHÁZ NEWS HUNGARY The theological faculty of Utrecht has invited Professor L. J. Pap of Budapest to Utrecht to continue his research work. He is a former student of the theological faculty there. * * * ITALY (St. Paul, Minnesota) — The “brave and courageous attitude” of the Italian court which convicted Bishop Pietro Fiordelli of Prato was praised by Dr. Achille Deodato, moderator of the Waldensian Church in Italy, now visiting the United States. Dr. Deodato, speaking in St. Paul, Minnesota, said that the recent conviction of the Roman Catholic bishop on charges of defaming a couple married in a civil ceremony might have good consequences if it makes Italians aware that “pressure by the Vatican in civil affairs has gone too far”. Speaking of his own church, Pastor Deodato, who is also president of the Federal Council of Evangelical Churches of Italy, said that “we do not try to antagonize the Roman Catholic Church. We want to give Italy a positive presentation of the Gospel.” E.P.S., Geneva k k k YUGOSLAVIA Bishop Alexander Ágoston, in his monthly newsletter, describes an interesting occasion in the town of Feketic. Bishop Nikanor Hide of the Serbian Orthodox Church, with some other officials of that Church, recently visited the town in order to meet the Orthodox community there. Bishop Nikanor first went to see Bishop Ágoston, who took him to the Reformed Church’s former Orphanage. There one of the rooms had been set apart and furnished as a chapel, which was put at the disposal of the Orthodox. Bishop Nikanor was able to speak to the Orthodox, encouraging them to be faithful to their Church, and taking the opportunity to express the thanks of his Church to the Reformed Church for the use of their Chapel. Bishop Ágoston, in his reply, pointed out that, when the Hungarian Reformed Church had first come to Feketic, they had been without a home, and so it gave him great pleasure to render this service to others in that same position. (The Reformed & Presbyterian World.) k k k GREECE Bishop Jacinthe Demetrius Gad has heen named by Pope Pius XII as Titular Bishop of Gratianopolis and Apostolic Exarch for Byzantine Rite Catholics in Greece. The appointment was made after the faculty of the Greek Orthodox Theological School at the University of Athens had sent a letter to the Pope asking him not to name a successor to Bishop George Calavassy, who held the post until his death last November. The Orthodox faculty said that the presence of Eastern Rite Catholics in Greece disrupts the unity of the Greek people and hurts relations between the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches. CIVIL MARRIAGE STILL DIFFICULT FOR SPANISH PROTESTANT CONVERTS (Madrid)—A number of Protestant attempts made recently in Spain to gain permission for civil marriages where one of the parties is an ex-Catholic have been unsuccessful. Following the governmental decree in October 1956, such couples have been able to apply for civil marriage. The 1956 decree declared invalid a ministerial decree passed in 1941 which had made the marriages virtually impossible. A “supplementary note” issued by the registrar’s department in April 1957, but not published as an official document by the government, declared that “legal obstacles” prevent the marriages because conversion to Protestantism is not considered sufficient proof of the “non-Catholicism” of people seeking civil marriage. The ruling of the department means that the issue as a whole has not been settled. Cases must be heard separately and favourable findings referred to the registrar’s office for final approval. A group of Spanish jurists has informally stated its opinion that the new administrative measures nullify the 1956 ministerial decree and are contrary to Spanish law. Final judgements by local courts towards the end of 1957 have in some cases reversed the earlier opinion of the magistrates in the same courts that the marriage could be contracted. (E.P.S., Geneva)--------------o-------------RUSSIAN ARCHBISHOP TELLS YUGOSLAVS ABOUT USSR CHURCH In an interview during the recent visit to Yugoslavia of the Pariarch Alexius of Moscow, Archbishop Boris of Odessa, a member of the Patriarch’s group, described problems posed by property, financing and the anti-God movement in the USSR. Asked why the government of the Soviet Union had not yet handed back church buildings needed by the Patriarchate, Archbishop Boris said the Church had no way of maintaining them. “Before the revolution,” he said, “the government kept them up, but now the Church must pay all the expenses itself. The Church’s income is exclusively drawn from the sale of candles at two rubles. The money we get permits us to keep the Patriarchate going as well as the bishoprics and our theological seminaries.” Among the churches not restored are those in the Kremlin, Leningrad and St. Sophia in Kiev. They are at present used as museums. Questioned about a recent nation-wide congress on problems of atheism in Moscow, Archbishop Boris said he had “never heard of such a conference” (it was reported in the Soviet press). He agreed that there was a quest for new “life formulas” among the younger generation in Russia. “The Church has always been with our people,” he said. “Therefore she knows what our young men and women seek. Happiness finds its roots in freedom and truth, in the truth of God, which is as powerful as the sun. You cannot hide it with your hand.” E.S.P., Geneva.-----------o----------The superior man blames himself; the inferior man blames others.
