Fraternity-Testvériség, 1961 (39. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1961-03-01 / 3. szám
8 FRATERNITY Changes in the Constitution of the Church Before these eventful months the Reformed Church had strongly objected to the situation that while the Church could offer a slate to the government of three candidates for a bishopric, which it had selected itself, the Minister of Cults, normally a Roman Catholic, was always in the position, if he wished, to veto the final choice from amongst the three. This power of the “lay arm” had deep roots in the history of the Hungarian Church. In 1791 there had been a clash between the Reformed lay nobility and the ministry on the question of the election of a bishop. A vote had been taken amongst the ministers alone in the choice of a new bishop, and when one of their number had been elected, the ecclesiastical court had then written and informed the King of their choice. But the lay nobility, in answer to this procedure, had put forward its own choice of candidate for this same vacant office. In the end the nobility had won the day, because it had gained the support of the royal Court for its nominee. This precedent was naturally an unfortunate one, since it increased the power of the lay nobility in the Church beyond measure. In that same year (1791) a Synod meeting in Buda had published a revised Church law composed of 155 canons. Amongst others, this new law regularized the formulation of the Kirk Session. It was to be composed of the patron, the minister, the clerk and the elders; in large parishes, the local high school teachers as well. No specific rules were laid down for the election of the elders; all that the canons required was that the established methods of election and of swearing-in be adhered to in the future. Now, by these canons, the patron was assured a very influential place in the courts of the Church. His task was no longer just to protect the Church as had been his function in earlier years; he was now to give advice and “in every way” to share in the administration of the parish. Moreover,
