Fraternity-Testvériség, 1985 (63. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
1985-04-01 / 2-3. szám
Page 8 TESTVÉRISÉG TOILET PAPER FROM BIBLES One of the greatest grievances of the Hungarian Reformed Church in Rumania is that it cannot obtain Bibles and Hymnals. These two most important tools of religious life have been simply out of print for decades. The church officials could not obtain permission for their reprint from t1 Office of Church Affairs, the political arm of the Communist Regime, which supervises the life of the churches. Foreign visitors are thoroughly searched at the borders. The customary question of the border guards and custom officers is: “Do you have guns, drugs or Bibles?” The Presbyterian and Reformed Churches of the West through diplomatic channels have made it known to the Ceausescu Regime that according to the peace treaties after the Second World War, and according to the Helsinki Accords, it is under obligation to permit the reprint of Bibles. Under Western pressure, the Ceausescu Regime gave permission to the World Reformed Alliance to send 20,000 Biblies to the Hungarian Reformed Church in Rumania. The leadership of the Alliance considered this a triumph of patient and persistent church diplomacy. The Rumanian Ambassador in his talks with United States Senators and Congressmen, especially before and during the debates concerning the renewal of the “most favored nation” status of his country, often pointed to the acceptance of 20,000 Hungarian Bibles as a sign of his regimes magnanimity toward the large Hungarian minority in Rumania. However, the fate of the 20,000 Bibles was shrouded in mystery. The leadership of the Hungarian Reformed Church in Rumania, which was appointed by the Communist Administration and is completely subservient to it, could never give a proper account of their distribution. The congregations themselves never heard anything about their existence. Even if the Bibles had been completely distributed among the approximately 1,- 000,000 Hungarian Reformed Church members, only one out of 50 would have received a Bible. After a long silence, the Bibles reappeared in Rumania in the form of toilet papers. The mystery of the Hungarian Bibles was finally revealed. It was observed in the regions with large Hungarian populations that the toilet papers, which were extremely scarce on the market, and for which people were standing in line for long hours, contained certain letters and even words. After careful examination, they noticed that the words and characters were strictly of Hungarian origin, and there were practically no Rumanian words or letters among them. It was also observed that such words, as “Esau,” “Jeremiah,” “God,” “vers,” reappeared with frequency, from which it was not difficult to see, that the toilet papers were produced out of Bibles. The 20,000 Hungarian Bibles sent by the World Reformed Alliance were obviously sent to the paper-mill in Braila to be recycled for the manufacture of toilet papers. But, as it often happens in Communist Rumania, the pulp-mill did a rather shoddy job. The excellent quality of western bibliophile paper and print could not be recycled by the crude pulp-mill. Shreds of paper, with original words and letters, remained almost intact on the final toilet paper products. From the rolls of toilet paper brought out of the West, it can be established that they were manufactured in the “Bistrita Prundul Birgaului” factory, located in “C.I.C.H. Braila l.H.” industrial zone, under the series “1CA TIP II. Stas 9202/72,” carrying the name “HIRTIE IGIE- NICA Tip. II.” that means No. II type toilet paper, which was put on the market for 2.02 Lei. The rolls carry from one end to the other only Hungarian letters and characters, which, according to paper manufacturing experts, indicate that large volumes of Hungarian Bibles had to be used for this purpose. This was the way in which the fate of the 20,000 Hungarian Reformed Bibles sent by the World Reformed Alliance came to light. The action of the Ceausescu Regime clearly reflects its contempt of religious life in general, and of the Hungarian Reformed minority in particular. There were many book burnings in history. However, such deliberately barbarian and cynical a deed which would use the Holy Scripture for the making of toilet papers is unique in human history. Ceausescu’s appetite for Hungarian Bibles must be on the increase. We received information from reliable sources that he ordered the confiscation, of all Hungarian Bibles and religious literature from the homes of the Hungarian population in the district Moldavia, in which, even according to Rumanian statistics, there are still 120,000 Hungarian speaking individuals. One can assume that these Bibles and Prayer Books will also end up in the pulping-mill of Braila in order that they may reappear on the market place in the form of toilet papers. Dr. Alexander Havadtoy
