Calvin Synod Herald, 1978 (78. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1978-05-01 / 5-6. szám
REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA 9 in Rumania is also revealed by the press at times, and this creates total distrust in nationality policies; indeed, it casts doubt over the sincerity of all policies in general, and for millions of citizens it destroys their confidence in socialist society. What concerns me the most at this time is the obstinacy with which this problem is ignored by our pary organs, from the lowest level to the highest they act as if they were totally unaware of it. My own personal efforts, as well as those of others, to draw their attention to it, have thus far remained fruitless. And the situation continues to deteriorate, to the detriment of the prestige of our party and society. I am writing to you with a deep sense of responsibility, as I am one of those Communists who is convinced of the truth of our ideals. I have fought for these ideals since my tender youth, and later as a member of the supreme party and state leadership as well. The nationality question is a touch-stone of democracy. Without the just and real, not only verbal, solution of the nationality question, democracy cannot exist, and the new society, the socialism which we all want, cannot be built up. Our supreme leadership must analyze these problems very seriously. Unless it does so, the leadership itself will make the entire existence of democracy within our party and our society questionable. THE PERSONALITY CULT' It is not society which is bad, nor is it the socialist system which must be faulted, but the methods used by the leadership. It is necessary to illuminate the grave errors being committed in the interpretation of Marxist-Leninism and in the application of the fundamental principles established by the party. We must renounce policies based on demagogy, the personality cult and the capricious application of Marxism. Only in this way can we achieve a proper, just and democratic solution of all those questions which reality has created in our socialist society. We nationalities — Hungarians, Germans, Serbs, Jews, Gypsies, and so on — feel a deep respect for the Rumanian people and wish to live in harmony with them. It would be a pity if all that would collapse which we, Rumanians and the other nationalities, built up with hard work in the decades following liberation. After all, this country is the common home of all of us, and we love her as a good mother. We must do all we can to prevent her from becoming a cruel stepmother to any one of her children, regardless of his nationality. The New York Times, Febr. 1., ’78, Károly Király DR, JOSEPH ÁRVALZSIROS, Rector Magnificus The prophet Micah speaks these words only to those who have a covenant relationship with God: “He has showed you, O Man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8) The life and work of Joseph Árvai-Zsiros give flesh and blood to these words of Micah. A young lad in a small village Hernádszentandrás in the County of Abaúj, Hungary is stirred by the Call of God in his heart: Go and serve. Serve God and serve man! In the consciousness of his inner most being he only hears the word: serve. But first he must go. The dream of a poor peasant boy becomes a reality. He enrolls in the School of the Poor (Sárospatak) as a first year student — a “pecúr.” He didn’t know it then, but he had enrolled in the school for life. Rarely, did the school at Patak have a more distinguished scholar. His mind soaked-up knowledge like a sponge that had waited for a thousand years to be activated by the rivers of learning that flowed from his teachers and professors. In all academic pursuits he was never less than Summa Cum Laude. He was fascinated by languages. While others looked for the origins of the Magyar people in archeology, geology, history, etc., he looked for clues in language. Primarily, in his native Magyar language. He fell in love with its rhymes and rhythms; its music and sounds and especially with its seemingly endless variations of expression in poetry and prose that sought to probe the very depths of the human soul. This love of language led him into the study of Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Arab and Egyptian, German, English and Sumerian. The country boy from Abaúj was now a full fledged linguist of the first rank. Yet, there was always the search for the roots of his own identity and that of his people. The Sárospatak School of Theology called him to be Professor of New Testament and Greek, a chair for which he had prepared diligently and with great distinction. But a change in personnel policy vetoed
