Magyar Egyház, 1958 (37. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1958-05-01 / 5. szám
8 MAGYAR EGYHÁZ (Enttftr mat ton In our Hungarian Reformed Churches one of the most solemn occasions is the confirmation of our children, which is followed by their first participation of the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. Confirmation is a rite by which a child, in age of discretion, makes a public profession of his faith before God and the congregation in the church. His profession of faith is accepted by the Church to be sincere and genuine and all the blessings of the Holy Spirit are invoked upon him in the prayer of the whole congregation and by the laying of the hand of the minister upon his head. The confirmed youth is admitted to the Lord’s Supper and regarded as a true, faithful, grown-up member of the Church. The profession of faith at the time of confirmation means that the child declares and proves that he was properly instructed and taught the doctrines of the Christian religion from the Bible. Then he declares consciously that he not only knows the doctrines of the Christian religion but believes them as truths. Also, he publicly pledges himself to live during his whole earthly life for the glory of God as a faithful disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. But since no one can be a true disciple of Jesus Christ outside of His Church, therefore the child makes a solemn pledge and vow that he wants to be and to remain forever a loyal, examplary member of the ONE HOLY CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST. The pledge to the One Church of Jesus Christ should be coupled, however, with a pledge and vow of loyalty and faithfulness to the Reformed Church too which is a part of the One Church of Jesus. The Reformed Church, or to be more exact, the local Hungarian Reformed Church in which the child was raised had the privilege by the grace of God to be instrumental in his becoming an educated, believing Christian. It is therefore understandable that the confirmed child remains a faithful member not only of the Reformed Church but also of his local Hungarian Reformed Church, as long as his circumstances make it possible. He promises at his confirmation that he will be a regular church-goer, he presents himself at the Lord’s Table whenever the church calls him, he will have his future children baptized in due time after birth, he will have his future children confirmed at the proper age, he will support his Church generously with his money, time and talents, he will do his utmost to lead his unchurched fellowmen into the fold of his Hungarian Reformed Church. Confirmation is a solemn occasion not only for the child but for the parents and godparents, too. When they had their child baptized they promised to raise him in such a manner that he might be able to profess his faith at the time of his confirmation. Indeed a mother or father or the godparents should be joyous when they witness that their child offers himself to God as a true Christian person. Today when the hearts of so many parents are broken because of the sinful life of their children, it should be the primary duty of all conscious Christian parents to have their children instructed and confirmed in the Christian religion. Confirmation is not a supplement of the Sacrament of the Holy Baptism. The personal testimony of our children of their faith in the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit is just a blessed proof that God indeed took our children into his grace and bestowed upon them the blessings which Holy Baptism symbolizes: the forgiveness of their sins and the power of the Holy Spirit. At the baptism of our children we believe that God loves them and wants to make them true followers of Jesus Christ and at their confirmation, hearing their profession of faith, we happily realize that indeed they became true followers of Jesus Christ. So the most natural feeling in the hearts of the parents and godparents at the confirmation of their children is the most sincere thanksgiving. Understanding the significance of confirmation for a child and for his parents indeed it is hard to believe that many confirmed children are hindered by their parents’ negligence to live up to those sacred pledges and vows they make at their confirmation. If you have a child who was or will be confirmed this year, stand by him, help him to go to church every Sunday, let your exemplary Christian life strengthen his faith! Let the words of Jesus make us aware of our duty as parents of our confirmed children: “Who so shall offend one of these little ones who believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” Matthew 18:6. STEPHEN KOVÁCS CATHOLIC AND PROTESTANT WARNINGS AGAINST MIXED MARRIAGES IN GERMANY (Bielefeld, Germany)—Roman Catholic and Protestant leaders in West Germany have issued warnings on successive Sundays about the dangers of mixed marriages between Protestants and Catholics. A pastoral letter from the Roman Catholic bishops read in all churches on January 12 was addressed mainly to unmarried Roman Catholics and to parents. It said that a “deep religious cleavage” runs through most mixed marriages and that statistics showed the marriages were inclined to be unstable. The letter claimed that 50% of children of such unions were “lost to the church”, and the leakage was even more serious in the next generation. A statement from the synod of the Evangelical Church in the Rhineland was read in the parishes of that church on January 19, urging church members not to be persuaded into marrying Roman Catholics. Calling certain features of Roman Catholic ecclesiastical law “contrary to the Gospel”, the statement said these ordinances menaced the fellowship which God intended to exist in marriage. Since World War II the number of mixed marriages in West Germany has increased, partly because of an influx of Protestaant refugees from East Germany into Catholic areas. In some places 50% of recent marriages are mixed. E.P.S., Geneva
