Calvin Synod Herald, 1972 (72. évfolyam, 8-12. szám)
1972-10-01 / 10. szám
REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA 5 ATHENAGORAS I 1886-1972 “His Holiness” Athenagoras I, Archbishop of Constantinople, New Rome and Ecumenical Patriarch for 24 years and spiritual leader of world Orthodoxy for a generation, died in Istanbul on July 7. The loss of one of history’s most devoted champions of Christian unity was mourned all over the world. Among many tributes to his memory was the following from Dr. R. H. Edwin Espy, general secretary of the National Council of Churches, who knew and admired him deeply: “With the death of Patriarch Athenagoras, the world-wide church of Christ has lost one of its greatest statesmen, a priest and bishop of God truly inspired by the Holy Spirit. “A tireless and life-dedicated worker for the spiritual unity of all Christians, Athenagoras loved and served humanity as he loved and served God, with all his energies of body and spirit. “His legacy to us is the inspired example he set as one who led the way to a unity that is yet to come, but is now much nearer because of this remarkable man.” His successor is Demetrius of Istanbul, Turkey. Tempo ’72 July-Aug. --------------*• • »»-------------STEPHEN BOCSKAY Stephen Bocskay fought against Emperor Rudolf for religious freedom for Protestants. To retaliate, the Emperor sent his army under the command of Basta to capture Bocskay. Bocskay gathered his men together, hired mercenaries, and with this army defeated Basta and expelled the Belgiojoso’s army from Transylvania. The Transylvanian diet elected him Prince, while the Hungarian diet at Szerencs in 1606 elected him King of Hungary, but he declined the kingly power. He made peace with Emperor Rudolf, the Vienna Treaty (1606), in which freedom of religion for protestants was secured. Bocskay made Transylvania independent, resettled a part of his army, the hajdú-s, and accorded them nobility. Under Bocskay’s protection, Calvin’s teachings spread and new churches were organized. He was poisoned and died in Kassa in 1606. In Geneva, his statue may be found among those at the Reformation Monument, in recognition of his service for Calvinism.------------------< » » -----------------Church Statistics NEW YORK, N. Y. — Spotty gains and losses in various churches’ membership, indicating a continued leveling-off in overall church growth, are reflected in the latest statistics which were published March 27 in the 1972 YEARBOOK OF AMERICAN CHURCHES. The Yearbook is compiled and edited by the National Council of Churches and published by Abingdon Press. While the total figure shows a 1.97 per cent gain (2,540,869) in the number of people belonging to churches in the U.S. (131,045,953 compared to the previous 128,505,084), this can be attributed to the addition of several churches to the Yearbook’s statistics, said its editor Constant H. Jacquet, Jr. and a change in the method of reporting by one church. “Only on an individual church-by-church basis can losses or gains be accurately reported,” he said. The Roman Catholic Church reported an additional 342,640 members, (up .7 per cent) reversing its previous year’s decline. The Southern Baptist Convention counts an additional 140,324 (1.2 per cent), exceeding the rate of population growth in the U.S. (1.1 per cent). Also registering light gains were several smaller, more conservative Protestant denominations. The Christian Reformed Church went from 284,737 in 1969 to 285,628; the Church of God of Anderson, Indiana from 147,752 to 150,198; the Church of the Nazarene from 372,943 to 383,284 and the Seventh-day Adventists from 407,766 to 420,419. Showing slight declines were larger Protestant Churches. The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) went from a 1969 figure of 1,444,465 to 1,424,479; The Episcopal Church, from 3,330,272 to 3,285,826; and the Lutheran Church in America went from a 1969 total of 3,135,684 to 3,106,844 in 1970. The United Church of Christ membership decreased from 1,977,898 to 1,960,608; The United Methodist Church from 10,824,010 to 10,671,774; and The United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A. from 3,165,490 to 3,087,213. Total church membership as a percentage of U.S. population was recorded in the Yearbook as gaining. During 1971, it counted 63.2 per cent of the population as church members versus 62.4 per cent in 1970. However, the latest Gallup Poll shows attendance in churches to be continuing a decline. During 1970, 42 per cent of the adult population in the U.S. attended church in a typical week, while in 1971 this figure was 40 per cent. The loss of attendance is mainly attributed to Roman Catholics, 60 per cent of whom attended church in a typical week in 1970, versus 63 per cent in 1969 and 71 per cent in 1964. Protestant attendance, a lower figure, was 38 per cent in 1970 versus 37 per cent in 1969, remaining fairly constant since 1964. Mr. Jacquet cautioned against drawing hasty conclusions from statistical comparisons. The figures are the best available, he said, coming from the official statistical offices of the communions concerned. However, some statistics are not complete, many are current and some non-curent. Other technical factors vary totals from year to year. In addition, some churches, such as the Roman Catholic, include infants in membership lists as do many Protestant bodies, while other Protestant churches include them at baptism or confirmation, around age 13. General trends can be fairly indicated, however, on the basis of figures covering a span of the last quarter century, he said. For example, during the mid-Fifties, church membership gained annually at a rate faster than population growth. In the mid-Sixties, membership generally increased at a rate slower than the population growth. Last year’s statistics showed what could roughly be called a standstill in membership for the first time, up only .03 per cent.
