Magyar Egyház, 1959 (38. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

1959-08-01 / 8-9. szám

10

MAGYAR EGYHÁZ

Bishop Zoltán Béky of the Hungarian Reformed Church in America, Dr. Stephen Szabó, President of the E & R Church’s Magyar Synod, with Dr. Stephen Haller, President of the Elders’ Association after the Lectures on American Hungarian Reformed Unity.

President of the American Hungarian Elders Association, Dr. Haller is true and we should all agree with him, that “it is impossible to preserve the heritage of our fathers or to build a new future without unity”.

It has been repeated in our circles that it is already too late to talk about unity. For half a century we have been burying American Hungarian Reformed life wih sad phrases like: “we are now at the sunset of our Church life” or more recently, “we came to the last turn before the very end”. The idea of a melting pot, unquestionably true in matters like old country customs, language, etc. were applied to our faith, which should sound quite incredible in the ears of our fathers. The statement which became such a shameful common place in our church life: “Hungarian Reformed Christianity has no future in America” has done a tremendous damage to our pastors, elders, and church members. We should have taken the Word of God more seriously applying to ourselves: “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow” (Matthew 6:34).

Our century has been called the Ecumenical Era. One of the favorite Bible texts of our generation is taken from the Prayer of the Lord Jesus: “that they all may be one” (John 17:21).

We must realize, that for Hungarian Reformed people in this country the very first task given by this prayer: the honest search, prayer, repentance before Almighty God for our unity. Our search for unity must be based on a decision of faith.

We are grateful to our laymen bringing up this problem again after we clergymen have failed.

HISTORICAL EFFORTS FOR UNITY

Efforts made for American Hungarian Reformed Church unity were many and equally unsuccessful. Most of them missed the most necessary element for a real unity in Christ, that of sincere decision in faith. Six different groups promoted unity according to their own group interests without realizing that Hungarian Reformed unity can only be accomplished in Hungarian Reformed faith and Hungarian Reformed Church.

THE WAY OF UNITY

No doubt we all agree that unity is needed. It is the prayer of our Lord, it is the wish of our persecuted brethren in faith. But how should this unity be realized?

As Hungarian Reformed Christians we base our faith on the Holy Scriptures, as defined by historical creeds such as the Heidelberg Catechism, and the Second Helvetic Confession. A true reformation of ourselves in the spirit of our historical confessions may lead us to the right understanding of our Church and of our faith. For us, the visible Church is the Hungarian Reformed Church; God has elected us to be Hungarian Reformed Christians and has given us a special field, a special commission, which we have to fulfill.

The only way of obedience for Hungarian Reformed Christians cannot be less than the autonomous Hungarian Reformed Church in America organized by all Hungarian Reformed congregations in the United States of America in complete unity with the historical Hungarian Calvinistic Faith.

IT IS NOT AN ORIGINAL “FREE MAGYAR” IDEA

The Reformed Church in the U. S. (before the merger with the Evangelical Synod) considered this possibility before starting the Hungarian Mission Work. This German Reformed body had been originally supported by the Dutch Reformed Church without any claim to give up their special German Reformed calling and character.

Many times attempts were made to organize such a church, but those efforts failed. In 1934, 1935, 1941 the official delegates of the three largest Hungarian church bodies affirmed their desire to unite in one autonomous church body. Dr. Charles Schaeffer, a churchman of high importance in the E&R Church has mentioned the God-given ecumenical calling of the Hungarian Reformed people in this country if they can act as one.

The Mission Boards and present leaders of those denominations having Hungarian congre-