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

1986-02-01 / 1. szám

CALVIN SYNOD HERALD

— 6 —

REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA

— The Distinctness of the journeying — of the Hungarian Reformed in America

The Psychoanalysis of the A merican Hungarian Reformed soul------------------------------- By Rev. Stephen Szabó, Ph.D.--------------------------------A book written by Dr. Aladár Komjáthy, pastor of the Hungarian Reformed Church in Montreal, Canada, has been recently published in Hungary. The title: “A kitántorgott egyház". (The church of those, who staggered out of Hungary.) It is about our church, about us: Hungarian Reformed church-people in America. Dr. Komjáthy borrowed the title from the great Hungarian poet: Attila József. “And ‘staggered out’ of our homeland into America one and half million of our countrymen.” That people we are!

The name is rightfully chosen. We, Hungarians, have not really immigrated to the American Continent by choice like the Anglo-saxons. We were driven out by compelling forces of history. We are dissimilar to the Anglo-saxon majority. No comparison can be applied.

The psycho-analysis of our being is indeed timely and profitable. Since the writer of this article has been pastoring souls of American Hungarian Reformed church-people throughout a half a century, having received his Ph.D. primarily in Psychology; it is evident, that the subject is truly close to his heart.

Mihály Babits, the great modern Hungarian poet, has a meaningful little poem. The title: “Psychoanalysis Christiana. ” May I quote it here for our benefiction in my own hasty translation:

“Like saints’ bowing statues in chapel’s niche stand there,

In front neatly carved to charm the beholder;

But turned toward the wall with their naked backs. ”

It’s all rugged stone and unrefined cracks.

Such saints are we!

To suffer much is to win the prize!

Yet we will have to be chiselled with many knives,

Till Heaven 's great King will find us suitable To be placed into His niche above forever.

Lord Christ! Help us!”

The poet’s conclusion: “Such saints are we!”

What kind of “saints” are we, American Magyars in our churches? That is the question. To answer is the purpose of the present article.

There were four mighty waves of migration in our history.

First of them at the end of the last century. Simple working men were driven out of Hungary by the thousands into America because of the intolerable economic conditions of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. All of them men, leaving their families behind. Their aim was not immigration. They were all intent to return to their families after acquiring here enough dollars for, the purchase of a tew acres of land back home. They are the ones, who organized all our first churches and built our first church-buildings here, starting in Cleveland in 1891. The first pastors complained that — at the same time — they were unwilling to pay church-“taxes” here, since they all continued to pay the

“taxes” through their families back home. Double “taxation” seemed unfair to them.

The end of World War 1 with Trianon brought on the second wave of migration. By that time the drastically changed historic events made those, who staggered out with the first wave, immigrants in the new land. They brought over their families to join them here, instead of going back themselves. Two thirds of the Nation given to others around swelled the waves of those, who again “staggered out” from the homeland.

The end of World War II forced the Nation under Russian occupation and communistic rule. The third wave of migration brought thousands of “Displaced Persons” staggering through the Western Europian countries finally to America.

Then in 1956, after the Russian armies crushed the glorious Hungarian Freedom-Fight, the fourth wave of migration staggered out and ended up here in America. Refugees came by the thousands, sponsored by our churches.

We have become people living in Diaspora. Dispersed people living so badly scattered in our churches do develop a unique road of traveling, that is distinct and dissimilar.

There is an eternal parallel between the Jews and the Magyars.

It is well-known by all that the Jews are the most scattered people on earth. There are 16 million Jews on the globe today: Only 3 and half million within the borders of Israel and 12 and half all over the world in dispersion. But it is not too well-known, that second most scattered people on earth are the Magyars. Out of the twenty million Magyars in the world today only ten million live within the borders of the Homeland: the other half — ten million — dispersed all over the world. More than two million of those here on the American Continent.

The fours waves of migration brought all of us here and merged us into our churches. The powerful forces of history caused this primary dispersion. But migration did not come to an end in this new Land of the free. Unfortunately for us, it has continued in a secondary migration right here in America. The migrants of the third and fourth waves continued to scatter more and more on the vast spaces of our new Nation. All our churches sponsored hundreds of “D.P.”-s and hundreds of freedom fighters. Where are they now? The ten fingers on our two hands — tragically enough — are sufficient in all our congregations to count those, who remained with us! In addition to that even the descendents of our first wave migrants did scatter all over the USA in unbelievable numbers!

Horribile Dictu! Few years ago in our Grand-Church in Cleveland I had to officiate at the funeral service of one of our oldest, faithful church-member, Géczy néni. She was 100 years old, when she died and left behind exactly the same number of blood-descendents: one hundred. They