Bethlen Évkönyv, 1993-1996 (Ligonier)

Zoltán D. Szücs: Our churches and our federation

“Without the past, the present cannot be understood.”

(“The Present and the Future of the Hungarian Reformed People”, Sándor Kiss, A lecture at the Hungarian-Reformed Presbyter’s Conference, Ligonier, August 31, 1958; Bethlen Naptár, 1959, Page 52.) This statement by Mr. Kiss is eternally true. No one can attempt to understand the present life of our Hungarian Reformed Federation of America, or the life of our Hungarian Reformed Churches in this land without a thorough knowledge of their history, of their past. We shed some light on the cirsumstances, on the birth, on the necessities, on the aims of these two great entities and vehicles of our Hungarian Reformed life in America, through an extensive and thorough historical decumentation. It is clearly evident that the human necessity of survival, the need for love and mutual support, the spiritual hunger and the social needs of our Hungarian Reformed brethren here, gave birth to both.

They were born together as twins of the needs of our Reformed brethren here, at the time. They continued to produce offsprings mutually one from the other. They grew up and became strong together, hand in hand. They were envisioned and organized jointly by Apostolic spirit of Hungarian Reformed clergy and divinely dedicated Hungarian Reformed laity in America. They built it, supported it, dedicatedly worked for it, sacrificed for it, together. They fulfilled the spiritual and the social need of our brethren. They were, are and will be the two strong working arms to build up the Kingdom of God amongst us, in this land. By themselves, both our churches, or our Federation would be greatly handicapped to build a strong future, as they had a strong past, for our American Hungarian Reformed folk. “If the maintenance of the Hungarian life is possible, then it can happen only through the churhes” — said rather pointedly Sándor Kiss. (Sándor Kiss, op.cit., Page 56.) It is so true. In the United States, the maintenance of Hungarian life continued only at those locales, where there was a strong Hungarian church life. It is equally true in connection with the Federation. It is very evident that they mutually need one another. It is even more obvious that our American-Hungarian brethren need both.

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