Magyar Egyház, 1966 (45. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1966-05-01 / 5. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 9 At press conferences in both cities, Dr. Ramsey emphasized that the Instruction “does not meet the conscience of Anglicans or other non-Roman Christians.” He said that the problems surrounding mixed marriages are a “practical barrier” to Christian unity. “I don’t know of any other that so affects Christian unity,” he said. Bishop Emilianos of Meloa, representative of the Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople to the World Council of Churches said that, “love of family appears to have to be sacrificed on the altar of canonical loyalty.” Lutheran Bishop Dr. Hanns Lilje said in Hannover that this “very small step forward” must be followed by patient interconfessional discussions of the problem. The retroactive lifting of excommunication for Catholics who have been married before a non-Catholic minister, said Lilje, is an “important change,” but the new regulations governing education of the children of mixed marriages are a “great disappointment.” In England, the New Christian editorialized sharply: “The most serious matter ... is that in the year 1966 a great branch of the Christian Church has refused to abandon a view of marriage which is theologically unsound and pastorally absurd.” In an interview in Rome, Augustin Cardinal Bea, president of the Vatican Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity, emphasized that the new regulations were “experimental, that is, with the reservation that they must be tested in practice.” Conceeding tha many had been disappointed by the regulations, he said: “It should be said frankly that in a certain sense no solution could ever be entirely satisfactory. The very problem of mixed marriages reveals the whole paradox of the separation among Christians. The only real solution is the very unity of Christians.” GREAT WOMEN OF OUR FAITH LETTER FROM THE U.C.W. CONFERENCE I thank the Almighty God for the many opportunities offered to us daily to expand our knowledge of His holy work. The most recent one being May 1st, at our annual conference of United Church Women hosted by the New York Hungarian Reformed Church. There we heard a discourse by the Rev. Kovács of Trenton in Hungarian and Mrs. Kovács in English on “Great Women Of Our Faith”. Comparing the miraculous conception of Isaac’s mother Sarah and Jesus’ mother Mary . . . The hardship but continuing faith of Monica, 350 A.D. whose prayers for her son Augustine were answered after 17 years but her faith never faltered . . . Of Lorantfy Zsuzsanna, 1600, and Árva Bethlen Kata, 1700, who did so much spiritually and materially to the continuance of our faith . . . We heard also of Elizabeth Frye, English Quakeress who spread the word of God in jails and hospitals to the unfortunate . . . All I can say is, Father help me, a sinful servant, to continue in Thy word — Give me the strength and faith in Thee as Thou didst to the women of Yore. Let me not falter, but let me in my insignificant way help spread Thy word, and the message of life eternal in Jesus name, our Savior and Redeemer. I was in the Hungarian group, and we also heard Rev. Daroczy who from the Ligonier Orphanage and Old Peoples Home was our guest. Upon closing our conference period we had a short business meeting at which time Mrs. Margaret Kertesz (Carteret) was chosen president, Mrs. Helen Beke (Trenton), vice president, Mrs. Mary Kitchen (Trenton), treasurer, Mrs. Betty Vargo (Perth Amboy), English secretary, Miss Elsa Petro (New York), Hungarian secretary. We also voted a donation of $100 to the United Church Women. Rose Nagy THE SECOND HELVETIC CONFESSION RENDERED IN QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS SECTION XIV Repentance and conversion of man. (First part of this article appeared in the April issue of Magyar Egyház.) 6. Why do we talk about the “keys of the kingdom of heaven”? Because Jesus said to Peter: “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matt. 16:19.) Also, Jesus said to all the apostles: “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” (John 20:23). 7. How do the ministers, the successors of the apostles, have the keys of the kingdom of heaven today? The ministers have the keys of the kingdom of heaven in this sense: They preach the Gospel, that is, they declare the forgiving love of God and the eternal heavenly life to those who truly believe and repent their sins. In this sense we may say that the ministers forgive sins and open the heaven to the believing penitent sinners. By the same token, they retain the sins and close heaven to the unbelieving, hardened sinners. 8. Do the ministers have the power in themselves to forgive sins and open or close heaven to anyone? No. They, just as ambassadors for Christ, proclaim the reconciliation of God with sinners in Jesus Christ, as Apostle Paul writes: “God through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. So we are ambassadors for Christ ... we beseech you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.” (2. Cor. 5.) 9. What are some of the false teachings concerning repentance and conversion? Falsely teach who say that a) it is easy to receive the forgiveness of God even if we willfully and intentionally repeat our sins b) it is possible to buy the forgiveness of God with money or any other thing c) we can give a perfect satisfaction to God for our sins, we do not need the sacrifice of Christ. ID. What is our duty as repentant sinners? Our duty is to constantly strive to get rid of our sins and obey God. This is our true thanksgiving for the mercy of God that He forgave us because of the sacrifice of his Son. Stephen Kovács
