Calvin Synod Herald, 1986 (86. évfolyam, 1-6. szám)

1986-06-01 / 3. szám

CALVIN SYNOD HERALD REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA-3-• The First Hungarian Calvinist Church of Cleveland • The First Hungarian Calvinist Church was officially founded on the 3rd of May 1891 by the Reverend Gusztáv Jurányi within the Trinity Reformed Church built by German settlers at the corner of Madi­son and Rawlings Avenues in Cleveland. If took two years — and many difficul­ties — for the congregation to put by the sum of one thousand two hundred and eighty dollars, which they used to buy, on the 13th of February 1893, a building lot on the comer of Madison Avenue and 79th Street, where subsequently a church of their very own was built. The foundation stone was laid on Sep­tember 23rd 1894, and the heart-warming and memorable consecration of the modest timber building was held on the 25th of November that same year. * In the meantime the Reverend Gusztáv Jurányi had gone back to Hungary, and the Reverend Sándor Harsányi was chosen by the Faculty of Theology of Debrecen, at the request of the mission council. He took over on the 4th of November 1894. The small congregation had incurred crip­pling debts when the church was built, and the new minister looked on settling them as his first duty. He did his visiting amongst Hungarians not only in the Cleveland district, but also further afield, in cities, townships and homesteads, raising funds for his Church. He was so successful that he was not only able to pay back every cent they owed but also to finance the building of a fine manse right next to the new church. The congregation said good-bye to him with regret after but a short tenure when he followed a call to Chicago early in 1898. The Congregation asked the Reverend Elek Csutoros from Berettyóújfalu in County Bihar to fill the vacancy. He im­mediately began to put new heart in a congregation that had felt the discourage­ment of being left to their own devices. The example of his family life, the fire of his preaching and his untiring organizing work not only restored hope to souls in a short time, but also swept his brethren with him. At that time large members of Hungar­ians flocked to the New World in search of a better life, and many thousands settled in Cleveland. The small timber building of the First Church proved too tight. It was shifted to the back of the lot and converted to serve as a school and hall, and the congregation built a new church of stone, at the time the largest Calvinist Church in the U.S.A. With pomp and ceremony and to the rejoicings of the congregation the The newly elected pastor of the First Hun­garian Reformed Church, the Rev. Ste­phen Szilagyi. new church building was consecrated and opened in May 1904. The thirteen years of Elek Csutoros’ ministry were the golden age of the first phase of the history of the First Reformed Church. * The Rev. Sándor Tóth was the next minister. He stayed for eleven years. He went out to minister to the largest Hun­garian congregation in America in 1911, as a young man of 27. His youth was the reason why he had to pay dearly for his experience. The split in the Church was one of saddest episodes of the whole history of the First Church. The antichurch was completed on 126th Avenue in August 1915. Following a call to fill the vacant position of Hungarian teacher at the Franklin Marshall College in 1922, Sándor Tóth resigned to take up his new appoint­ment. * The Rev. Dr. József Herczegh started on the job early in 1923. For many years before his arrival a desire to shift the center of activities had been present. The general meeting at last resolved on the 3rd April 1932 that the building committee led by Imre Király, teacher, begin the construc­tion of the building of the Education Centre. The new building complete with the beautiful Bethlen Hall was soon ready. The inauguration ceremony was held on the 11th of December 1932. But the wave, which reached its crest at that time with the building of the Edu­cation Centre, unfortunately began to flatten out again. One of the consequences of this decline was the gradual and ulti­mately complete deterioration of Calvinist Church discipline. The other symptom evi­denced itself in the non-recognition of the psychological nature, just needs and role of young people, and in the patently un­successful ministering to the needs of the young. The consequent heavy loss almost completely buried the future of the congre­gation. The most visible consequence of the decline was that the long-awaited, promised, dreamed of and so many times planned Great Church, the vessel, which would hold the new life, just could not get built. In June 1947 Dr. István Szabó, the writer of these lines, took over the ministry. He made the building of the Great Church his first task. The whole of the congre­gation lined up behind him. The big family of the Church followed its leader like one man. On the Sunday of Labor Day, the 4th of September 1949 four thousand people gathered to take part in the con­secration ceremony of the Great Church. The Great Church was declared an Architectural and Historic Monument in 1977 because of its “architectural excel­lence, historic significance and cultural im­portance.” It is the only Hungarian build­ing in America, which won this distinction. The Church celebrated the 90th anniver­sary of its foundation with nation-wide publicity on the 18th of January 1981. Dur­ing the thirty six years of my ministry Dr. József Piri, the church warden, shared his burden, offering invaluable service for twenty-five years. The future of the First Church — and of all American Hungarian Churches — is now in the hands of people, whose Hungar­ian roots are deep, whose family bonds are strong and Calvinist faith is undaunted. Only with such people — and by the grace of God — will we live to see the not so dis­tant centennary and sing even then in our dear mother tongue our ancient hymn: “We put our trust in Thee!” Dr. István Szabó CALVIN SYNOD HERALD Official Organ of the Calvin Synod, Conference of the United Church of Christ Rt. Rev. Zoltán Király, Bishop 220 Fourth St. — Passaic, N.J. 07055 Telephone: (201)778-1019 MANAGING EDITOR: Paul Kantor ADMINISTRATOR: Charlotte K. Kantor PUBLISHING OFFICE: 365 E. Woodrow Avenue, P.O. Box 07812 Columbus, Ohio 43207 Telephones: (614) 444-1473 or 444-1319 PRINTING OFFICE: Classic Printing Corp. 9527 Madison Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44102 Telephone: (216) 631-3626 Published bi-monthly Individual Subscription $6.00 Group Subscription $4.00 yearly Postmaster Send change of address to: CALVIN SYNOD HERALD P.O. Box 07812, Columbus, OH 43207 Second Class postage paid at Columbus, Ohio ISSN 0161-6900

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