Magyar Egyház, 1986 (65. évfolyam, 1-6. szám)
1986-01-01 / 1. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 5. oldal Whilst we can in no way condone the violence and inhumanity associated with the historical event of the Revocation, we nevertheless give thanks to God for the witness borne by so many Reformed Christians whose faith was more precious to them than even their love for their native land. At once an inspiration and a spur, this cloud of witnesses has accompanied the Reformed Churches down to our day. It serves to remind us of the price inseparable from the Gospel and brings vividly to mind the danger which threatens a Church which is not prepared to pay the price. The Revocation of the Edict of Nantes brought the Reformed Churches, willy nilly, back to the original springs of the Reformation. The persecution defended the Reformed Church of France from the danger of conforming to the absolutist mentality of that time. It would be quite improper, of course, to romanticize the Reformed Church of that day. In the period prior to the Revocation it had been dominated by the concern to fall in with the plan of a national church. Thousands of Reformed Christians were caught unprepared by a situation in which they were forced to decide and they disowned their faith. At the same time, however, the persecution was a purifying process. The Reformed Church rediscovered what it meant to be a pilgrim people of God. The expulsion of the Huguenots led, however, to a deeper sense of universality in the Reformed Churches. We read in the Acts of the Apostles how persecution drove the primitive Christian community out from the confines of the city of Jerusalem to begin preaching the Gospel in Judea and Samaria. The persecution in France had similar consequences. The refugees provided the occasion for a growing and deepening solidarity among the Reformed Churches. They carried with them new and critical ideas which would spread throughout the whole of Europe. Ill Above all, however, the commemoration of the Jubilee will be worthwhile if we make it an opportunity for reflecting together on the witness which the Church is called to bear in the world today. Four things come to mind in this connection: — The commemoration of the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes helps us to realize how important it is to work for a social order which allows room for a plurality of religious and political convictions. Louis XIV’s vision of the unity and integrity of the State ruled out any toleration of divergent religious convictions. Sooner or later, he had to proceed against the Reformed minority. The same inclination to absolute sovereignty is found today in various forms. In an increasing number of countries today, political systems, ideologies, and even the naked interest of dominant groups, lay claim to total sovereignty. Movements of opposition or dissent are outlawed and persecuted. Minorities, and sometimes even powerless majorities, are stifled and repressed. In the interests of the State, respect for human integrity and dignity is sacrificed. Torture and arbitrary justice are a daily occurrence today. The Gospel requires us to work for a society in which diversity is not only not feared but firmly anchored in and defended and encouraged by law. — Secondly, the commemoration of the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes helps us to realize how important it is that we should break out of the idea of national sovereignty and outgrow the mere defense of national interests. To secure the predominance and growth of the French nation — that was the desire which directed the course of Louis XIV. If the idea of national sovereignty could still claim a certain plausibility at that time, it can claim none today. The sole possibility still open to us of ensuring peace today lies in the nations’ recognizing themselves as members of the universal society of nations and acting accordingly. If they confine themselves in their own situation and their own interests alone, the whole of humanity is in mortal danger. The slogan of “national security” must be unmasked and denounced as the ideology it is. Only together can we achieve security. Nations which seek it for themselves alone, inevitably end up by practicing repression. The Gospel sets a question mark against all national frontiers and directs our gaze to that Kingdom in which national, linguistic and cultural differences are reconciled. — Thirdly, the commemoration of the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes makes clear to us how important it is that the Churches should constitute a universal fellowship transcending the national boundaries. The ills that befell the Reformed Church of France were assuaged by the solidarity felt and practiced towards it by its sister Reformed churches. The fact that for a time at least the Huguenots found a welcome beyond the frontiers was a countersign against the absolutist outlook of France. This fellowship of mutual solidarity among the churches is more urgently needed than ever today. To demonstrate sporadically in times of special crisis is no longer enough today. A permanent mutual exchange between the churches is indispensable if they are to fulfill their sentinel office vis-a-vis the powers of the world. The Gospel requires the churches to disregard national frontiers in championing the cause of the poor, the oppressed, the voiceless, the imprisoned and the tortured. — Finally, the commemoration of the Revocation of the Edict of Nantes brings home to us, specifically, the message which God addresses to us through refugees. Without setting out to be so, those who become refugees — men, women and children — are in a real sense prophets and judges. By their very existence as refugees, they demonstrate the arbitrariness, injustice and oppression prevalent in the country from which they come. Conversely, they set a test for the country to which they seek admission: will it prove hospitable and welcoming or will it seal its frontiers and so become a mirror image of the country from which the refugees come? The Gospel draws our attention to this twofold message. It summons us to make room for the refugee wherever we happen to live. Four common tasks! May the Jubilee we are celebrating this year help us to see them with new eyes and to find new ways of fulfilling them together with the Christians of all traditions! Allan Boesak, President Edmond Perret, General Secretary
