Magyar Egyház, 1961 (40. évfolyam, 1-10. szám)
1961-10-01 / 10. szám
8 MAGYAR EGYHÁZ MAGYAR CHURCH October 23 The fifth anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian uprising finds—basicly—no change in the state of the world. There are some new trouble-spots like Laos and Berlin; new mistakes have been made by the West like in Cuba and new aggressions are in the offing by the reds like in South Vietnam. Unchanged, however, is the fact that freedom’s cause has no brighter outlook today than five years ago. Even the future of containment seems rather bleak and still appeasment appears to be the alternative to nuclear self destruction. No one has the right to criticize the statesmen of the West unless he can come up with a truly effective plan to achieve what can be today the only political goal of every nation worthy to be called human: freedom and peace for all. No one doubts that this is the goal of our Western statesmen. Yet, when we read the sometimes cautious, sometimes subtly persuasive remarks applying to the Communist governments the Apostle Paul’s Words that Christians be subject to the governing authorities we cannot help remembering also another picture of the worldly power, namely that in the Book of Revelation where it is not the governing authority to be respected but the beast which must disappear eventually. Politicians and sociologists coldly suggest that we better reconcile us with the fact that Communism is here to stay and we must learn to live with their representatives on the same globe. On this fifth anniversary of the Hungarian uprising the shed blood of these martyrs and the suffering of all enslaved people make us rather share the vision of John yearning after the nein heaven and the new earth. And, trying to be also a little more practical than just yearning after a maybe distant divine solution we suggest to apply to ourselves the appeals and warnings of the Letters to the Seven Churches. Beginning right now. WORLD CHURCH LEADERS MEET IN INDIA Leaders of the World Council of Churches will meet in New Delhi, India, November 18 - December 6 for what promises to be one of the most important church meetings of this generation. The third assembly of the World Council of Churches will bring representatives of the 175 Protestant, Anglican, and Orthodox member churches to the capital of India. In all, there will be nearly 1000 church men and women, 625 of them official delegates and the rest observers, advisers, fraternal delegates, and special guests. “Jesus Christ, the Light of the World” is the theme of this first World Council assembly to be held on the continent of Asia. The assembly provides the major forum for Christian leaders to discuss Christian unity and to chart the course of the organization the churches have formed to promote this cause. It met last in 1954 in Evanston, Illinois. Within the broad outline of the main theme, church leaders will focus attention on “Witness”, “Service”, and “Unity”, dealing respectively with taking the Christian message to those outside the churches, Christian responsibility to the whole of society, and unity among the churches. Dr. Joseph A. Sittler, distinguished Lutheran theologian and professor at the Theological Faculty of the University of Chicago, is the major speaker on “Unity”. Speaking on “Witness” is Dr. P. D. Devanandan, director of the Christian Institute for the Study of Religion and Society at Bangalore, India. Professor Masao Takenaka of Doshisha University, Kyoto, Japan, will speak on “Service.” These speeches will set the stage for concentrated study of the main theme by delegates. A solemn service of worship and thanksgiving will inaugurate the assembly on Sunday morning, November 19. The opening service of the 18-day assembly will be held in a huge tent or “Shamiana” to be erected especially for the service and other assembly events open to the public. A colorful and impressive procession of the 625 official assembly delegates will be led by the World Council’s five presidents and Dr. Christian Baeta of Ghana, chairman of the International Missionary Council. The Sunday afternon session will be an historic occasion. At this time the World Council assembly delegates will be asked to approve plans for the integration of the Council with the International Missionary Council. The majority of the IMC’s member councils have approved. The integration marks the uniting in one organization of two bodies which have symbolized the search for Christ and unity in the twentieth century. The IMC was formed in 1921 as a result of plans stemming from the 1910 Edinburgh Conference on the World Mission of the Church. The World Council of Churches came into formal being in 1948 in Amsterdam, Holland. The two have worked “in association” from the beginning. A new Commission on World Mission and Evangelism will be created. A division of this name within the structure of the World Council, headed by Bishop Leslie Newbigin, general secretary of the International Missionary Council, will bring the concern of the churches for mission into the heart of the World Council’s work. A Lutheran bishop from East Germany, Dr. Gottfried Noth, Dresden, of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Saxony, will deliver the keynote address on Sunday night, November 19. He will speak on the assembly theme, “Jesus Christ, the Light of the World.”
