Fraternity-Testvériség, 1989 (67. évfolyam, 1-3. szám)
1989-04-01 / 2. szám
FRATERNITY PAGE 11 parcels, medicines, and shipments of clothing and school supplies, special offerings were taken in scores of Reformed and Christian Reformed churches. The semi-official relationship which developed between the two schools had to be discontinued in 1951, but friendships which had been established have persisted until today. The new situation in Hungary has fostered increasing desire that the Rákóczi Gymnasium be returned to the church. The conditions set forth by the state were given above; the problem facing the church is funding. With its lands taken from it in 1951, the school has no capital funds, and the economic condition of the country is such that the congregations of the Reformed Church cannot bear the burden of maintaining the school alone. Outside help is an absolute necessity. Therefore a Committee for the Reestablishment of the Sárospatak Reformed Academy has been formed to head up a drive for funds to enable the school to function as a Christian institution again. A charitable foundation is being set up in Western Michigan where there is a strong Reformed community and an interest in fellow-Calvinists in Eastern Europe. The trustees of the foundation will be officials of the Christian Reformed Church, the Reformed Church in America, and the Hungarian Reformed Federation of America. Bishop László Kürti of the Cistibiscan Synod, within which Sárospatak is located, has suggested that major funds be held in this country with the interest going to Hungary for the maintenance of the school, and that is also the committee's intention. A campaign for funds has started, and the target date for the transfer of the school to the church is the year following. Both Dr. Imre G. Bertalan, at whose invitation this is being written, and I plan to be in Hungary this October to help in the realization of this long-awaited occasion. News of the proposed change in the life of the school has been widely acclaimed. Dr. James I. McCord, president emeritus of Princeton Theological Seminary and a member of our committee, has declared: "Sárospatak is one of the most famous names in education throughout the world. Being solidly Reformed, it is equally ecumenical and historically has reached out to both the East and the West. The time has come to work for the reopening of this great center and to relight the torch of Truth." The American ambassador to Hungary, the Honorable Mark Palmer, has similarly endorsed the work of our committee. Calling the college of Sárospatak one of the most "prestigious" in Hungary, he writes: "I am quite familiar with the project and wholeheartedly support it because it is a perfect example of the many opportunities we have in East Central Europe today. ... I strongly urge foundations and individuThe Great Library als to support this effort in concrete ways. There is no more deserving project of this kind in this part of the world. I would be pleased to provide personal and direct assurance by phone or in writing should anyone wish to contact me directly." Bishop Elemér Kocsis, newly elected president of the Reformed Church of Hungary, has expressed the "deep thanks" of the General Synod in its meeting of January 19, 1989, and "on behalf of the Praesidium of the General Synod" he asks our committee in the realization of their plan for the school. Dr. Kálmán Újszászy, sole surviving member of the Theological Faculty at Sárospatak, has urged us "to serve this matter, praying, working, even fighting for it." While there has been high interest on this side of the Atlantic in the restoration of the Sárospatak Reformed Academy, action has lagged behind that of our friends in Hungary. A foundation was established The Museum
