Bethlen Évkönyv, 1993-1996 (Ligonier)
Halottaink
He was Associate Professor of Church History at the University to Dr. Imre Révész, and later succeeded him on the faculty. Dr. Piri had two doctoral degrees, one in Church History and the other in International Law. He lived in Buda through World War II. After the war he lost everything he possessed. The saddest loss of all was that in the aftermath of the war his family life was destroyed. In 1948 the rigid closing of the nation’s borders made it impossible for them to escape together as a family. He has two daughters in Hungary from his first wife. He left Hungary in 1948, migrating to Germany where Dr. Sándor Nagy assigned him to administer spiritual care to the Hungarian refugees at the camp in Dachau. In 1951 he migrated to the U.S. and settled in Cleveland where he had to start a new life. He married Maria Szabó, the widow of Paul Szász, in the year of the Hungarian Freedom Fight of 1956. The span of his life in this city of Cleveland involved 43 years. He was an active member of the First Hungarian Reformed Church in Cleveland since 1951 where he served as Chief Elder from 1956-1984. He was an active lay member of the Calvin Synod for 30 years. For four terms (8 years) he was Lay Leader of the Governing Body of the Bishop’s Council. He was Secretary of the Lakeside Classis of the Calvin Synod for 12 years and served for 15 years as Vice-President of the Cleveland United Hungarian Societies. He was a loyal member of the Magyar Club for decades. He had delivered more than 300 lectures on various topics, and had written numerous articles in different publications. He preached 850 sermons and participated frequently in the administration of Holy Communion throughout his career. He was a member of the Order of St. John which was organized in 900 A.D. whose members until 1950 were nobles. His father was a Marchese in the order and his grandfather, a member. The philanthropy of the St. John Order is the support of eight hospitals in Europe. Dr. Piri overcame the pain and tragedy of his early life by serving his God and Church in his new country. 465
