Reformátusok Lapja, 1970 (70. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1970-03-01 / 3. szám
14 REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA WARC General Secretary in Romania Geneva — Dr. Marcel Pradervand, general secretary of the Alliance was one of four leading European churchmen who received an honorary doctorate of theology at the United Protestant Theological Institute in Cluj. The other three recipients of the degree were Metropolitan Nicolea Mladin of the Romanian Orthodox Church in Transylvania, the Lutheran Bishop György Argay of Transylvania and Professor Johannes de Graaf of Utrecht University, the Netherlands. The degree ceremony formed part of the celebrations to mark the 20th anniversary of the foundation of the United Theological Institute, which is the ministerial training centre of the Reformed, Lutheran and Unitarian Churches in North-West Romania. Prior to 1949 the Institute, which is affiliated to Cluj University, served the Reformed Church only. While in Romania, Dr. Pradervand also had talks with the heads of the Government Department of Religious Affairs, Professor Dumitriu Dogaru, the general secretary, and Professor Gheorghe Nenciu, the director. When asked about his impressions, Dr. Pradervand indicated how much he had been struck by the measure of understanding and goodwill the government has towards the churches. “Despite ideological differences, it is quite apparent that there is a real and effective cooperation between church and state. There is in the churches a very strong feeling of national responsibility for the state of Romania,” he said. The WARC general secretary also referred to his impressions of the Romanian Orthodox Church, which had participated fully in the anniversary celebrations: “I was moved by the presence of so many young people at the special service in the cathedral at Sibiu; the majority of the vast congregation were — in fact — youth, and most of them young men.” “At that service, Metropolitan Nicolea emphatically challenged each individual church member to take ecumenism seriously and to show active love to Christians of other denominations.” Dr. Pradervand said to have been conscious of the rapid growth in ecumenical understanding and good relationships between the churches in recent years (it was his fourth visit to Romania). Speaking of the Reformed Church, he made special mention of the large number of candidates offering themselves for the ministry at Cluj Theological Institute. This year, 50% of the applicants had to be turned down because of the scarcity of vacant pastorates. “The general tendency seems to be for theological students to regard the pastoral ministry as the logical consequence of their seminary training,” said Dr. Pradervant. —RPPS CALVIN SYNOD MEETING Ligonier, Pa. April 27-29, 1970 CHURCH UNION A proposed plan of union that could join nine U.S. churches in this decade through the Consultation on Church Union (COCU) was made public. Developed during the past 20 months by a commission of pastors, laymen, theologians and officials of the nine participating bodies, the draft plan has as its aim not “the mechanical merger of denominations, but the formation through union of a dynamic united and uniting church,” and the “ultimate goal (of) the unity of the whole church.” “Christian diversity is abused by the separatenesses of the denominations, the competitions between congregations, and the hostility within local fellowships,” the 170 page document says. “Oneness in the church is required for the credibility and effectiveness of Christ’s mission in the world.” The name proposed for the united body is Church of Christ Uniting. Elements from the traditions and government of each of the nine denominations are included in the draft plan of union, but the proposal is intended to provide greater flexibility of program, more effective concentration of resources, and more specialized use of existing facilities than now exists in any of the nine. Among other things, the draft plan of union released here today: —Affirms the Lordship of Jesus Christ and the authority of the Bible; —Continues the three historic ordained ministries, offices and orders of presbyters, bishops and deacons; —Sees as crucial the work and witness of lay men and women and provides for their inclusion at all policy-making levels on a ratio of two laymen to one clergyman; —Stresses repeatedly that the church at every level must be open without discrimination to all persons regardless of race, age, sex, wealth or culture; —Asserts that worship is a key ingredient in renewal of the church and provides for a wide variety of forms of worship; —Declares the united church will seek communion and union with other churches in the U.S. and the world; and —Pledges that the mission of the united church “includes the public as well as the private sphere embracing the market place, the factory, the laboratory, the government, and the leisure and entertainment industries, amidst the dehumanizing influences and pressures that tend to reduce morality to an expedient ethic.” The united church would recognize all persons who are full members of the churches effecting the union. All those who are recognized as ordained ministers in any one of the churches at the time of union will be recognized as ordained ministers. No “re-ordination” will take place. The basic unit in the proposed church would be the “parish.” normally composed of several of the approximately 75,000 congregations in the present nine denominations, and “task groups.” Parishes would be grouped into “districts,” and districts into “regions.” At the national level there would be a presiding bishop, an assembly with a moderator, and a general council. The plan provides that the first presiding bishop of the Church of Christ Uniting will be a black person from one of the uniting denominations. The draft of the plan of union released here will be sent to the annual plenary session of the Consultation on Church Union in St. Louis, Mo., March 9-13 with the recommendation that, after debate and amendment, it be sent on to the nine churches for extensive study and response. COCU News
