Magyar Egyház, 1981 (60. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1981-03-01 / 3-4. szám
MAGYAR GGYhm 12. oldal Hungarians, but their words were matched by their deeds and sacrifices. Through the endowment they established for northeastern Hungary, the gifted children from the poorest families received scholarships to attend without cost the Seminary at Sárospatak. Many 11 and 12 year old orphans and children from poor working class homes came in patched trousers, wearing shoes or boots with holes in them, to start their training at Sárospatak. For the next 11 years they went through high school, college and seminary, as a result of the gift of others. These young men at the age of 22 or 23, with a well rounded education, a firm understanding of their Hungarian heritage, solid moral training and an unshakeable religious faith, took their place in the small towns and villages of northeastern Hungary as ministers and teachers. Like knights of old that guarded the border fortresses of Hungary, they fought their daily battles in many small outposts of the region or went on to fame as scholars of national and world renown. It is to their endowment that we can give thanks for the training of ministers who have preached the word of God through the past centuries in this region as they are still doing today. Foreign rule and systematic persecution have often befallen the Hungarian population in northeastern Hungary, but they have survived with a faith that is still unshaken. Since 1945, when Russia occupied and annexed northeastern Hungary, no Hungarian teachers or ministers from Sárospatak are allowed to enter. Thirtyfive years have passed since this religious pipeline with the Hungarian Reformed Church’s Seminary has been cut. By the grace of God, today in 1980, the Hungarian Reformed Church survives. Today there are 86 congregations in which church service is regularly held. In these churches over 80 percent of the ministers were trained at Sárospatak. Simon Horvath Paloczi and Maria have long turned to dust. Their memory is remembered only by a few and THREE CROSSES Three crosses on a lonely hill, A thief on either side, And, in between, the Son of God... How wide the gulf—how wide! Yet one thief spanned it with the words, “O Lord, remember me"; The other scoffed and turned aside To lost eternity. Forsake is the hilltop now, And all the crosses gone, But in believing hearts of men The center cross lives on. And still, as when these sentinels First met earth's wondering view, The presence of the Lord divides— Upon which side are you? preserved in the archives of libraries. But motivated by an unyielding faith, their unselfish gift to the Hungarian people to preserve their Hungarian heritage has over the past few hundred years stood like a beacon in the darkness ready to guide those seeking the way to the Lord. In the garden of the Sárospatak Seminary stand two statutes in memory of the institution’s two very special benefactors. To those of us who live in the free world in relative material wellbeing, due to our current labor or on a pension, the need to sacrifice for God’s work, his holy church, for all that he has done and will do, remains. Neither nuclear bombs, nor any other weapon of destruction, nor wicked power, domestic or foreign, will destroy the church. The church will live because God will sustain it; the risen Christ will uplift it and with new power move it forward. It will survive, in the future as it has in the past, the arrogant usurpers and the merciless dictators. The risen Christ words are still heard today as he said: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations.’’Join into this missionary host and work for the kingdom of God. To the Hungarians in America and the free world a rare opportunity has come to demonstrate the extent of your love for God, Jesus Christ and their church. You can provide evidence of your love by your support of the Gaspar Karoli Theological Seminary, the first Seminary of the Hungarian Reformed Church in the free world. We know that you cannot do quite as much as Simon Horvath Paloczi and his sister Maria did for Sárospatak as you do not have their great wealth, and even if you are rich you have family and relatives that you cannot disinherit. However, you can pray for the success of this undertaking and in so far as means permit send in your material support. The Bible tells of the story of the woman who brought her only two talents to Jesus and Jesus told her this is the greatest gift, for it came not out of surplus but it was all the wealth the woman had. The Lord asks of you only what you can give. With a small or large gift you can sustain and help guarantee the spiritual care for all Hungarians living in the free world. In this way, those that come after you will find the leadership that will allow them to retain their faith and Hungarian heritage. Remember my Hungarian Reformed brethern, the ancient Reformed Seminaries of Sárospatak, Kolozsvár and Nagyenyed were all built from the small donations of poor people so that they could serve the purpose of the Lord and nation. During the bloody centuries that followed the Reformation, when decades of misery, poverty, exile and epidemics followed in series bringing untold suffering on Hungarians in all walks of life, from the highest ranking nobleman to the poorest serf, each made contributions to the best of his ability to this sacred cause. We believe and affirm that our Hungarian heritage and our national existence were preserved only by their sacrifices. You contributions to the newly established Theological Seminary will also serve to preserve and enrich the religious life of all Hungarians living in the free world. We are sure that God will greatly bless you for all your gifts.
