Fraternity-Testvériség, 1993 (71. évfolyam, 1-4. szám)
1993-10-01 / 4. szám
Page 12 TESTVÉRISÉG Since the immigration was increasing, the small wooden church in Cleveland was not big enough to contain the Hungarian Reformed churchgoers. Csutoros therefore encouraged the members of the congregation to build a new church. “I began the collection of a church building fund locally as well as in the Hungarian settlements throughout the State of Ohio. In the fall of 1903, we laid the cornerstone, and by May 1904, we already dedicated the new church.” In the Hungarian community of Cleveland, he was one of the most lively and energetic personalities. In his capacity as vice-president and president of the American Hungarian Reformed Federation, he made every effort to straighten out the chaotic finances of the young organization. “Then the new staff of officers was set up, and they elected me as president. I started to gather the dispersed members, and thank God, the members increased from year to year. When I saw that the Federation was on its feet and would prosper under honest leadership, I resigned after several years of presidency. The Federation presented me with a big illustrated Bible, which was valued at $60. When the Convention in Pittsburgh established the payment of dues according to age, they again forced me to accept the presidency.” In 1902 he was also a member of the committee which “urged the erection of a Kossuth statue” in Cleveland. He later wrote to his friend, “.... because of my ‘Kurutz’ background, I was blacklisted by the government of my homeland.” When the American Hungarian pastors gathered at a meeting with the intention of merging with the Evangelical Reformed Church in Hungary, they elected Csutoros as their temporary dean. In the same year, he was also elected as president of the American Hungarian Association in Cleveland. In this latter position, he took part in the celebration of the unveiling of George Washington’s statue in Budapest in 1906. It was the first statue of Washington in Europe. We also find Csutoros’s name among the founders of the American Hungarian Reformed Journal. In 1912, he received an invitation to succeed his father-in-law as pastor in Siter, Bihar county, Hungary. Csutoros accepted the invitation and returned with his large family consisting of his wife and five children. However, the family “was unable to get accustomed to the simple Hungarian country life,” and after spending one year in Hungary, they returned to the USA. Since the Cleveland East Side church was occupied, Csutoros, assigned by the Konvent of the Reformed Church in Hungary, went “to South-Ohio to carry on the mission work among the Hungarian miners.” In 1913, he assumed the pastorate of the Cleveland West Side Church. Under his leadership, the congregation observed its tenth anniversary. For the occasion, Csutoros composed the Chronicle of the Church in which he colorfully described the early days of the American Hungarian church; the daily life of the struggling Hungarian worker and his bearing in relation to church and community. From his Chronicle we also learn how the early Hungarian immigrant struggled to preserve his culture and identity in the New World. Csutoros played the role of mediator during strikes and helped clear unsettled questions between Tivadar Kuntz, an owner of industrial plants, and the employees who worked there. (Many Hungarians worked in the plants owned by Kuntz, who was of Hungarian origin himself.) Csutoros held the strenuous post as pastor of the Cleveland West Side Church for 13 years. These were very trying years not only for the pastor, but for the Hungarians living in the USA. Since Hungary was on the loser’s side after World War I, the Hungarian community was regarded with suspicion and treated with prejudice. The signing of the treaty of Trianon, whereby Hungary lost a large part of its population and land, only added to the wounds of the early immigrants. In 1926, he resigned as pastor of the West Side Church and accepted the invitation of the Columbus Church. In his memoirs he reasoned that “I accepted this because two of my children were studying at the Ohio State University.” From the motherland he received a great honor in 1930. The István Tisza University of Debrecen gave him an honorary doctorate. Elek Csutoros was pastor in Columbus for nine years and in September of 1935, he resigned and retired. He was able to spend 15 years with his beloved family till his death in 1950. (The above is a free translation of the Hungarian article by Dr. Julianna Puskas. - The Editor) Csutoros Elek Cleveland West Side-i ref. lelkész az egyháznak 13 évig volt lelkésze.
