Magyar Egyház, 2009 (88. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
2009-02-01 / 1. szám
2. oldal MAGYAR EGYHÁZ If John Calvin could see the stir he is causing among his spiritual descendants, he might be a little disturbed. When the great man died, his body was wrapped in a simple white sheet and placed in a modest cedar wood coffin. There were no speeches at his grave, and there was no monument to mark its location. Not long after, people did not know where his body was buried. The glory of God was his consuming passion, and even an instrument that bad served him so dutifully, manifoldly and influentially must not rob him of his sovereign grandeur. And yet, in spite of Calvin's humility, and in face of the danger of substituting the celebration of our fathers' faith for a living faith our own, it is right that the sons and daughters of Calvin should recall his life and work, understand his thought and ministry, repent his mistakes and failures, recognize his influence and power, and lend his person and integrity. So 1959 has been designated as the 450th anniversary of Calvin's birth, the 400th anniversary of the definitive edition of his Institutes the Christian Religion, the 400th anniversary of the founding of the Academy of Geneva, the 400th anniversary of the first Synod of Reformed Church of France, and the 100th anniversary of Presbyterianism in Brazil. Suitable celebrations have been held in various places, the most significant of which were in France, Geneva, Brazil. And it has been a most suitable time to dedicate the freshly restored Calvin Auditoire in Geneva, which is associated with teaching and preaching ministry of Calvin and with the European refugees who made Calvinism an international force. Geneva, where Calvin lived and worked for twenty-five years, aged in a three-day celebration marked by procession, reception, worship, convocation, " spectacle," and the first showing of the movie Soli Deo Gloria. Thus was Jean Cauvin, the son of an ecclesiastical lawyer, the converted classicist, the brilliant student, who was challenged by the fiery Farrell to choose the life of public leadership rather than the peaceful life of the scholar, honored in this Calvin year. John Calvin was a man of many gifts and of historical significance. Fie was educator, theologian, correspondent, reformer, author, expositor, preacher, administrator, counselor, friend. Contrary to population, his letters indicate he was a man of friendly compassion. The flaming heart on the extended hand of God on Calvin's seal portrays the core of the Gospel by which he lived. And his doctrine of predestination insists that no Church or man or state can control the free grace of God who elects in mercy. And in consenting to the burning of Servetus, he was a child of his time, giving a reluctant permission to an execution -which might have been carried out by Roman Catholic authorities had not Geneva acted. A monument was later erected by the citizens of Geneva to acknowledge the mistake that was made. On the occasion of this notable anniversary, an Address has been delivered to Christians everywhere, rededicating the sons of Calvin and their Churches to simple service to a common Lord and reaffirming their readiness to follow the Spirit into new and active forms of life, order, and witness. They greet all Christians and call them to a recollection, a repentance, and a reaffirmation which God may use in the renewal of the Church. The Address expresses gratitude to the Reformers for proclaiming Christ alone as Saviour and Lord; for uncovering the Gospel of the unmerited love of God; for establishing the authority of Scriptures for purging the Church that it may find new ways to claim the world for its true Lord; for teaching that God is free to effect man's salvation as he wills and use the Church without being in bondage to it; for teaching that men may address God directly, search the Scriptures, and be God's priests in all the parishes of the common life. The Address also recognizes and regrets the failures of our fathers and of ourselves: words that obscured the Word; tardy and timid testimony; license substituted for Christian freedom; shrinking from the pain of applying the mind of Christ to all the vexing issues of public life; reflecting the world's hatreds that lead to war. It closes with an eloquent plea for an ecumenical encounter in .which the Presbyterian order, Calvinistic tradition, and Reformed faith are laid upon the altar and offered to fellow Christians for what ever use they may be to the whole Church. "With the whole Church we hold ourselves alert for the surprises with which the Lord of history can alter the tempo of our renewal, and for the new forms with which an eternally recreating God can startle us while he secures hi Church. And we strain ahead toward the great day when the right ness of our joined memories will be a small sign of the strength of our conjoined forces, and when each Church's anniversaries will be eve: Church's celebrations." MAGYAR EGYHÁZ - MAGYAR CHURCH JANUARY-FEBRUARY-MARCH 2009. VOL. 88, NO. 1 ISSN 0360-5760 EDITOR IN CHIEF AND BUSINESS MANAGER The Rt.Rev. Sándor Szabó, Bishop 1053 East Sixth Street #32 ONTARIO, CALIFORNIA 91764 Phone: 909-981-9601, E-mail: revsand@aol.com EDITORIAL BOARD Rev.Ferenc Varga, Dean 73432 Stacey Dr. Brownstown, MI 48183 Rev.Bálint Nagy 751 Crenshaw Blvd. Los Angeles, CA 90005 Rev. Attila Tóbiás, 114 Nash St. New Haven,CT 06511 OFFICE OF PRINTING IPS Direct Marketing Agency 12148 Santa Margarita Court, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730 YEARLY SUBSCRIPTION: Group $5.00 Personal $6.00 MAGYAR EGYHÁZ - MAGYAR CHURCH is published quarterly (March, June, September and December) by THE HUNGARIAN REFORMED CHURCH IN AMERICA and printed at IPS Direct Marketing Agency. Address manuscripts and editorial correspondents, address all subscription orders, renewals, payments, and change of address notifications to MAGYAR EGYHÁZ - MAGYAR CHURCH 1053 East Sixth Street, #32 Ontario, CA 91764 Tel: (909) 981-9601, E-mail: revsand@aol.com.
