Fraternity-Testvériség, 1941 (19. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1941-11-01 / 11. szám
4 TESTVÉRISÉG THE BULLA AUREA By REV. CHARLES PAPP Unwritten and written law has always been a part of man’s social inter-course with man. Laws have been enacted and constitutions written as a means best adapted for advancing the happiness of peoples. These written and unwritten laws are the means by which man seeks to give expression to the highest and most profoundly spiritual in his makeup in regulating life to promote the best interest of the whole. Man is a social being endowed with inalienable rights among which are “life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness”. The history of mankind is but the record of man’s incessant struggle to achieve that condition when these rights may in fact find expression in his relation to the whole, in a society where the interests of the individual and the whole are met in perfect harmony, serving the best interest of all and insuring life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The history of any one nation must reflect the struggle of that nation to achieve this goal. In the laws governing the life of that nation is expressed the best in the mind and heart of that nation, so that in examining the constitution or basic law of a country we gain insight into the spirit which motivates that nation in its relationship with its component citizenry and with other nations of world. In the ninth century, when the sun of the Roman Empire had already set, there came a period when nomadic tribes sought to create a permanent foothold in Europe. In central Europe, then knowns as Pannonia, the Magyars, under the leadership of Árpád, appear. These wild, pastoral hordes of Magyars became under the descendents of Árpád a settled agricultural people, and their arms and valour were no longer employed in the devestation of Aryan Christianity. They sought to live in peace with their neighbors, to build a nation in which equality and liberty should be the foundation for a happy existence. The conversion of the Magyars to Christianity at the end of the tenth century is the most important event in the career of the Hungarian people. Missionary efforts in Hungary were made by the Eastern as well as the Western Church. It was not a mere accident that the new Hungarian State turned to Rome rather than to Constantinople for its organic connections. Had Saint Stephen joined the Eastern Church, Hungary could never have withstood the ambition and supremacy of the German Emperors aided by the Popes of Rome. Having, however adopted the Roman form of Christianity, Hungary was endowed with the Western or richer seedlings of civilization. The first hundred and fifty years of the Árpád dynasty may be called the heroic period of the young kingdom. It produced great kings, who, distinguished by their abilities, character and achievements, made their country strong and flourishing. Saint Stephen (997-1038), Béla I (1061- 63), Ladislaus (1077-95), Coloman (1095-1114), and Béla III (1173-96), all Magyars, offsprings of the House of Árpád, were all endowed with eminent qualities befitting the great task allotted to them. They were zealous guardians of their Kingdom and wedded heart and soul to their nation. They were men of great vision and intellect, who endeavored to use all the gems of Western civilization and culture for the advancement of their nation. Coloman (1095-1114) was sufficiently enlightened and liberal to do away with trials for witchcraft “inasmuch as there are no witches”. It took some nations six hunderd more years to come to this happy conclusion. Endre II ascended the throne of Hungary in 1205. He married Gertrude of Meran (Tyrol, Austria), who flooded the country with foreign relatives and favourites. These foreigners had no respect for the lawss of the country. They exploited the people and trampled on the rights of the nobility and of the common man. (Gertrude was murdered). Endre II, seeking to please the Pope and also to fulfill a promise made to his father, went to the Holy Land. During his absence things in his kingdom went from bad to worse. Summoned home from his fruitless journey to the Holy City, he found Hungary in the greatest disorder, the prestige of the throne diminished. The nobles demanded recognition of the sacredness of the constitution. They were determined to enforce their demands. Nursing wrath in his heart, Endre II bowed to necessity and called the nobility to the meeting of the diet of 1222. This conference led to the enactment of the law, which, owing to the Great Seal appended to it, is known as the Golden Bull, The Magna Carta of Hungary.
