Magyar Egyház, 1989 (63. évfolyam, 1-6. szám)
1989-11-01 / 6. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 11. oldal INTERCEDING ON BEHALF OF LÁSZLÓ TŐKÉS Two letters of the General Synod to the leaders of the Reformed Church in Roumania The Presidium of the General Synod (PGS) of the Reformed Church in Hungary (RCH) — i.e. the President, Bishop Dr. Elemér Kocsis and General Curator József Somogyi — directed a letter to the Presidium of the Reformed Church in Roumania, i.e. to the Acting President D. Gyula Nagy, the Bishop of Cluj (Kolozsvár) and to General Curator Dr. Gyula Tunyogi Csapó. They expressed their sympathy about the difficult situation in which the sister church lives, and declared that the RCH will by no means meddle in the inner affairs of the Reformed Church in Transylvania, but in regard to the minority churches, to the ethnic minorities and to the human right questions, it is no more possible for it to keep silent. The RCH does not wish to incite passions but would wholeheartedly like to see the re-establishment of the peace and friendship of the Hungarian and Roumanian peoples. This search for friendship has led it in maintaining contacts with the Roumanian Orthodox Church, to which we never failed to look with expectations. Peace and friendship cannot be realized without the implementation of justice, of the rights of minorities and religious freedom. ROMANIA: CIVIL COURTS INVOLVED IN TWO CHURCH CASES In Romania, Reformed Bishop László Papp is trying to have Reformed Pastor László Tőkés removed from the parsonage of his parish in Timisoara. With support from parishioners, Tőkés last April refused a transfer by Papp to another parish. Papp and the other Reformed bishop in Romania, Gyula Nagy, later declared that Tőkés has violated the laws of the church and the state, and thus dismissed himself as a pastor. Tőkés is known as an outspoken opponent of government policies said to adversely affect ethnic Hungarians and other minorities in Romania [EPS 89.08.80]. The leadership of the Reformed Church in Hungary sent Papp a telegram urging him to protect Tőkés, as did the leadership of the Federation of Protestant [Reformed and Methodist] Churches in Switzerland. It also urged Papp to ‘become actively involved in the defence of freedom of opinion.’ The Europe office of the Presbyterian Church USA sent a message in support of human rights for Tőkés to the government minister of church affairs. (Ecumenical Press Service) Transmitted within the frame of the TV-program PANORAMA on July 24, 1080 In Roumania today the really brave man, the real patriot is he who can pull the terrible wall of silence and fear, who is ready to face the ruthless, bloodsucking ideas and inhuman practice prevailing there. In this neighboring country more and more Roumanians and Hungarians are breaking through the wall of silence, and reveal their common absence of rights and humiliations. Such a courageous and pure man is László Tőkés, 37 year old Reformed minister of Transylvania, who came up against the dictatorship and destructive policy of Ceausescu, consequently also against the leadership of the Reformed Church in Transylvania, which, as we will now hear, — obviously inspired with fear — slavishly serves the state power, and will not protect its ministers and believers against oppression. The minister’s father, dr. István Tőkés, well-known professor of theology in Kolozsvár, was forced into retirement, was even deprived of the right to preach in Reformed churches. In September, László Tőkés addressed a note to the leaders of his Church, inviting them to speak up against the destruction of villages. After an interview he had given to a French journalist, he was suspended and exiled in a village. He went into voluntary house arrest by way of protest against the discriminatory policy of the Roumanian authorities. The outspoken Hungarian minister and his father have been hit by reprisals. We asked him, why he takes the risk to give an interview that may be highly dangerous for him under the given circumstances. He answered the following: László Tőkés: You see, Gentlemen, I brought you here, to the church, for we dare not speak in our homes. According to the knowledge of a friend of mine, there are bugs even in the bathrooms. I don’t know if it is true, anyway, I am afraid to speak but out of doors, not even on the corridors, or in the church. Worship services are certainly tapped, but I think that this morning, when no service is held, there is perhaps no danger. You ask me, why I am ready to speak to you. It is absurd, no doubt, it is not a well-considered decision, but an irresistible impulse, an urge to speak out at last, what I have so often swallowed. It is not a personal gratification, I have to speak instead of, and for others, too. Why should we always knock against the wall of silence, why should we build it on? This wall is much more massive and impenetrable than say, the wall in Berlin, and I feel that somebody has to start to open a gap in it. The other thing that induced me to take this step, is not really new. As a matter of fact, I have carried on this activity for six years now, in public and in secret, conspicuously and in concealment. As a minister, I feel myself responsible for the people, as one of its spiritual leaders. This responsibility is all the more heavy as most of my fellow-ministers are silent. I am a minister of the Reformed Church in Roumania. The clergy, in particular the bishops of this Church, fall in behind the policy, which has, among others, produced the bewildering plan of village destruction. Just imagine, Gentlemen, when we submitted an application to the bishops, to take up the cause of the villages, we were, all those who had spoken up against it, summoned to the bishop’s office, where an inspector was present, too. The Bishop, László Papp, eloquently argued for the scheme of country planning, he even said that it would be expressly advantageous for us if some congregations were dissolved, and the population resettled.
