Magyar Egyház, 1990 (69. évfolyam, 3-6. szám)

1990-07-01 / 4. szám

MAGYAR EGYHÁZ

9. oldal

Greetings in the name of the triune God, who created all the families of the earth for the divine purpose, redeeming us in Jesus Christ for new life as the church, empowering us by the Holy Spirit for service in this world.

As we witness the tumultuous changes occurring in your homelands, we want to assure you of our love. We stand in solidarity with you, longing for a new day of freedom, justice and peace for all.

We give thanks to God for recent events which have broken down walls of hostility, reconciling families, churches, and peoples long divided and generating hope for tomorrow. We rejoice that your churches have had a significant role in these events and pray that the Word of God may guide you in reforming church and society. May this, by God’s grace, be the dawn of a day of light and liberty for all, a time of kairos and not chaos, a time for joy and not despair.

We sense the dangers of this hour as well as the challenges for good. We pray that God may use you as a model of the new life in Christ as you minister the Gospel in word and deed among your neighbors, especially among those who hunger and thirst after righteousness. May you be delivered from all which might diminish or destroy your witness. May you be sustained by God’s faithfulness and wisdom for the difficult tasks ahead, freed from fear so that you can be equal to this time of crisis and change.

We pledge ourselves to stand with you, praying:

— for the leadership of your churches, so that those who

were faithful in dark days may proclaim and teach the Word of life in this new moment in history;

— for the full membership of your churches that those who were steadfast in suffering for Christ and his church may now sacrifice in ministry to their neighbors;

— for those in high offices in your lands, knowing that God desires all persons and peoples to be saved (I. Tim. 2:

1-7.);

— for the whole populace of your homelands that they might hear and rejoice in the liberating Good News of God’s love in Christ.

We promise to be your partners in the Gospel, cherishing our oneness in Jesus Christ and our common mission in the world. We pray for the day when the riches and glories of every nation, every culture, will be gathered into God’s coming kingdom in Christ (Rev. 11:15; 21:24-26).

Pray for us too that we might be equal to the strenuous demands of these times. We need your counsel and encouragement if we are to live in obedience to our Lord. May we all be found faithful, for our neighbor’s good and for God’s glory.

Grace and peace to you all in the name of the Lord Jesus. Amen.

Mrs. Sally Mackey Moderator

The Rev. Margrethe B.J. Brown Area Secretary

THE STAND OF THE WARC AND THE WCC IN THE CASE OF THE REFORMED CHURCHES IN ROMANIA

We must say Reformed Churches in Romania because these ethnic Reformed Churches in the territories attached to Romania by the peace treaty of Trianon in 1920 are not only in Transylvania but also in the areas surrounding what is called Transylvania and are in the immediate vicinity of present Hungary. These churches are divided into two ecclesiastic districts, “Királyhágómelléki” and “Erdélyi” Egyházkerületek. Both have just lately elected new bishops (László Tőkés and Dr. Kálmán Csiha) replacing László Papp and Gyula Nagy who had swiftly resigned after last year’s revolution.

The worsening situation of human rights violations by the oppressive anti-Hungarian Ceausescu regime coupled with the dictatorial internal church administration had become world known during the last years. It was called to the attention of leaders of both, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and the World Council of Churches. Dr. John Butosi and Dr. Andrew Harsanyi, as members of the North American section of the Reformed World Alliance, pleaded several times to interfere and to correct severe treatment of the Hungarian Reformed minority in Romania. Magyar Egyház reported repeatedly about the situation submitting details. The Romanian question was discussed by these church council organizations including the Central Committees of the World Council at Hanover (1988) and Moscow (1989). The cautious and tepid responses stated in various wordings the same: it was not possible to speak more fortrightly in its criticism because it believed that by doing so the “lives and liberty of innocent people would be put at risk.” In addition, they believed in the misleading statements of the bishops of

both church districts that church life is free of government intervention or oppression. Consequently council resolution spoke only of “concern,” of “strengthening the ecumenical fellowship” with the churches of Romania, and of continuing prayers.

The Reference Committee on Romania of the Reformed World Alliance General Council in Seoul (August, 1989) received an ample report on the grave situation under which the Reformed Church in Romania suffers. The proposed resolution reiterated the usual phrases like “to continue to monitor the situation in Romania and to keep member churches informed about the developments,”. .. “to seek ways to express solidarity and love to our sisters and brothers in distress.”. .. The resolution also proposed to call upon all the member churches ”to continue their prayers of intercession,” .. . “to seek ways and means to express concern and solidarity in person by visits, either official or as tourists,”... “to make inquiries and express concern to the Romanian authorities and their representatives,”... “to contact their own governments.”

The Central Committee of the World Council of Churches meeting in Geneva March 25-30, 1990 made a number of statements on the Romanian situation. Among them “regrets its mistaken judgment in failing to speak adequately about the situation at its meeting in Moscow in July 1989; reaffirms its solidarity with the people of Romania as they build new social and political institutions that would ensure freedom and justice for all; expresses concern the recent ethnic conflict in Romania and hopes that measures will be taken to ensure the legitimate rights of ethnic minorities... asks the