Magyar Egyház, 1959 (38. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1959-05-01 / 5. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 13 World Church Leaders Air Views on Current Crises In a major statement April 22 to the U.S. Conference of the World Council of Churches, Archbishop Iakovos (James), made public a message from Ecumenical Patriarch Athenagoras I of Constantinople. In it he declared that, if invited to the Ecumenical Council proposed by Pope John XXIII, the Orthodox Church would attend only if the entire Christian world is invited to send representatives. Archbishop Iakovos is primate of the Greek Orthodox Churches in North and South America which he represents in the World Council. from the East. At the least, he said, these contacts “build a bridge of Christian understanding which mitigates tension without surrender of Christian principles.” Looking at the problem of population growth and family planning, Dr. Richard M. Fagley told the 150 delegates that the “log-jam of public ignorance and indifference is beginning to break up and cannot long persist”. Dr. Fagley, executive secretary of the Commission Bishop Sherrill, one of the presidents of the World Council of Churches welcomes the delegates of the Hungarian Reformed Church in America. — Left to right: Dr. Roswell P. Barnes, executive secretary of the U.S. Conference of the WCC, Bishop Beky, Bishop Sherrill, Dr. Andrew Harsanyi, Dean Gabor Csordás. Other business of the annual three-day conference in Buck Hill Falls, Pa. dealt with major world crises. Contacts between Christians in the free and communist worlds, the Berlin crisis, the advent every two hours of 11,000 new lives in the world, and “popular” religion came up for frank review. Dr. Roswell P. Barnes, executive secretary, discussed the worldwide strategy of the churches in their overseas service and mission. Declaring that for all Christians behind the Iron Curtain, communism is a natural enemy and Christians in the West their natural allies, Dr. Barnes said: “It is stupid, unjust and cruel to abandon fellow Christians who, in the face of persecution, unremitting propaganda and relentless social pressure still hold their faith.” He denied that Christians of the West are “contaminated” by any association with Christians of the Churches on International Affairs, said: “Soon people will wonder how it was possible that so many churches and governments had previously been silent on a social and moral issue of such world-wide and crucial importance.” Dr. Fagley observed that a resolution passed by last year’s conference urging the churches to devote more attention and study to the problem of “population explosion” had had wide repercussions. “It is no exaggeration,” he said, “to say that the US Conference initiative of a year ago, by stirring up public attention for the responsible parenthood question, helped to trigger the chain reaction of public discussion which is now beginning to take place and which will, soon or late, bring the critical issue of population policy into the forefront of governmental and intergovernmental debate.” ECUMENICAL NOTES Dean Gabor Csordás attended the recent meeting of the Board of Managers of Church World Service in New York City. He will also represent our denomination at the General Board meeting of the National Council of Churches in Seattle, Washington on June 3-4. At the annual meeting of the US Conference of the World Council of Churches, held at Buck Hill Falls, Pa. April 22-24, Dr. Andrew Harsanyi represented our communion. He was joined by Bishop Beky and Dean Csordás for the plenary session on April 23, when they were introduced by Bishop Henry Knox Sherrill as the delegation of a new member church of the World Council. Miss Fruzsi Harsanyi has been named our delegate to the United Christian Youth Movement of the NCCC to fill the vacancy created by the tragic death of Emery Karmazsin. •k * * The Ecumenical Council in Hungary has been reconstituted with 24 members from the Reformed Church, 12 Lutherans, 2 Baptists and one Methodist. Bishop Tibor Bartha succeeds Bishop Albert Bereczky as chairman. The Rev. Gyula Muraközy continues as executive secretary.
