Magyar Egyház, 1998 (77. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
1998 / 1. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 9. oldal THE TRANSCARPATHIAN REFORMED CHURCH IN THE DECADES OF THE COLD WAR World War II came to an end in Transcarpathia in the autumn of 1944. There were fights and major destruction only near the Hungarian border. Everybody waited the end of the war. Since the Soviet Army marched in to this part of the country, there was no cause for joy for the church. We all knew what an atheist-communist rule means for those who believe in God. And our fears and anxieties were not without a reason. The first disposition of the new regime was that every Hungarian man between 18-50 had to go to a three-day work, the so called “Malynky robot.’’One third of them never returned home. They were treated inhumanly. They endured cold, starvation, humiliation and torture. The list is not yet complete, but more than 38,000 died in these camps. The rest of them returned with an impoverished health after 3-4 years. This action of the authorities was enough to make people live in fear and grief. There is no family in Transcarpathia that would not mourn one of these. Every political leader was arrested and condemned, among them Imre Narancsik, Professor of Theology, minister of Muzsaly, and Jeno Szutor, minister of Beregszász. Both died in the camps. Several leading men of the church, foreseeing the future, fled. During the war, there were 104 ministers in Transcarpathia, but only 60 of them were still there by the end of the War. After two years of surveillance of these men began. First of all, active church leaders were eliminated. In 1947, Barna Horkay, minister of Nagyszollos and József Zimanyi, minister of Geese, were arrested. In a short time, Zsigmond Simon, minister of Asztely and Gyula Fekete, minister of Nevetlen, followed them. Another six ministers, József Paszit, István Gyorke, István Asszonyi, Bela Huszti, Zoltán Kovács, ministers of Munkács, Beregujfalu, Forgolany, Kigyos, Tiszaujlak, and Lajos Gulacsy, assistant minister of Munkács, were arrested on March 20, 1949. In the meantime, several ministers were suspended, others transferred. The Presbyterian system was suppressed, a council was created instead, on Soviet model, with 20 members, each of which were appointed on the recommendation of the mayor. Well-to-do people (kulaks) were arrested and accused of being anti-Soviet, as persons who oppose the establishing of the”kolhoz”. József Vass and Pal Forgon, ministers of Tecso and Visk were among them. They were accused of anti-Soviet propaganda and of misleading the people. The minister-training was forbidden, so, by 1975, the number of ministers decreased to 24 in Transcarpathia, where by that time, there were 86 congregations. Ministers were evicted from their parsonage and churches were nationalized, but believers were allowed to use the churches. In six congregations the churches were closed and used as warehouses. One might write a lot about those times. I hope history will record these facts. The situation of the church changed in 1975 when the Soviet Union signed the Helsinki Agreement. Two, voluntarily applying young persons were allowed to attend minister training courses each year, and later on, since 1991, two young persons were permitted every year to study at Hungarian theologies. Since 1994, we can send more. At present, 48 of our young study in Budapest, Debrecen, Sárospatak, Kolozsvár and Komarom. Today, we have 95 congregations, but the service is still performed by only 34 Transcarpathian and 4 Hungarian ministers. Meanwhile, between 1992-95, with the help of Hungarian professors of theology, 90 young persons were trained to be teachers of religion. During the years of the Cold War, the catechization of the young was considered a capital offense, whereas now, we wish to recover the lost time with the confirmation of the grown-ups as well. 9,000 children receive religious education. 6 new churches were built, 3 are almost finished. A new church was built in Szernye, another one in Nagydobrony for the Gypsy congregations. The foundation of a third one was just laid in Beregszász. Parsonages are being repaired, new ones are being built. We have not yet recovered all our parsonages. Hereby I express my thanks again for the brotherly support received from so many since we could not have done all this work on our own. Our watchword is God with us! We look forward, not backwards, and believe that God will bless us! Whoever wants to know more about our present condition is kindly invited to visit us. Although we live in modest conditions, we welcome everybody with brotherly love. May God bless those who read these lines! We believe that in all things God works for the good of those who love him. Lajos Gulácsy, Bishop of the Transcarpathian Reformed Church Munkács, Ukraine
