Sárospataki Füzetek 21. (2017)

2017 / 2. szám - RESEARCH PAPERS-FORSCHUNGSMATERIALIEN - Pándy-Szekeres Dávid: Elements of a triangular relationship: the presbyterian church in canada, ethnic Hungarian congregations of the presbyterian curch in canada and the reformed church of hungary

Elements of a Triangular Relationship

Hungarians who, under the leadership of Rev. János Kovács, had made the decision to transmigrate from the coal mines of the Pittsburgh area to western Canada. János Kovács was instrumental in organizing the PCC congregations in both Otthon and Békevár and served as minister for several years in both at different times. The reason that these first Hungarian Reformed Church communities became associated with the PCC is due to the simple fact that the PCC was, at that time, the largest, if not only, church body in Canada of the Reformed doctrine. Other similar congregations were established at various sites in the early 1900s, but the picture soon became somewhat fragmented in the wake of the Act of Union of 1925. Some established Hungarian-Canadian PCC communities chose to enter into the United Church of Canada (UCC), while others chose not to. Of the congregations established after 1925 as a result of the arrival of a new wave of immigrants or because of the relocation of Hungarians already residing in Canada, some chose to enter the UCC, some became associated with Hungarian Churches in the United States and some joined the PCC. In view of the magnitude of the task were this topic to be treated in its entirety throughout its one-hundred-year span, this study will restrict itself to the period between 1955 and 2006, using only selected sources.6

Having at least three larger waves of emigration from Hungary to look back upon, by 1955, the PCC counted among its ranks fifteen ethnic Hungarian congregations with a total communicant membership of 2,176.7 All of these congregations had been launched, at their outset, as mission fields or mission charges within the PCC and been supplied with ministers who were able to conduct worship services as well as the activities and business of the congregation in the Hungarian language. Some of these ministers were trained by the PCC while others had received their training elsewhere.8 Finding suitable ministers was often difficult and there were times when stated supply, in English at times, was the only solution. Because most of the members of these congregations were immigrants and in generally lower-paying jobs, it was never an easy task for a congregation to acquire its own church building, but by 1955, most of these congregations were conducting their worship services in their own church buildings. This was achieved by a concerted community effort often involving many hours of voluntary labour as well as many years of careful stewardship. Presbyteries of the PCC were generally sympathetic to these efforts and, if asked for a loan to help a church building or acquisition project move forward,

6 In addition to secondary sources, the primary sources consulted were the Acts and Proceedings of the General Assembly, the Presbyterian Record (monthly periodical of the PCC) and the personal correspondence [available at the archives of the PCC] of a few of the individuals directly involved with events pertaining to the study at hand.

7 See Table 1 in Appendex A.

8 Most of the pastors serving in the Hungarian ethnic congregations of the PCC had received their training in seminaries of the Reformed Church of Hungary while a few had been trained in the United States. All who served on an official basis were certified by the PCC.

202017-2 Sárospataki Füzetek 21 169