HIS-Press-Service, 1981 (6. évfolyam, 19-21. szám)

1981-10-01 / 21. szám

HIS Press Service No.21, October 1981

Page 7

are a witness to the fact that the Hungarian Bishops Conference fully supports the efforts of Hungary's Greek Catholic Church to revive the special rites and preserve the traditions of the Oriental Church in their authentic forms. This moral support on the part of the Roman Catholic bishops effectively contributes to the hopes that the positive situation in which Hungary's Greek Catholic Church finds itself in its post-Counciliar development can also prove beneficial for the members of the Greek Catholic Church in the other countries of Eastern Europe. (As is remembered, 4.3 million Greek Catholic Ruthenians were forcefully incorporated into the Greek Orthodox Church in 1946, as were also 1.8 million faithful in Rumania in 1948. The 350,000 Catholics of the Greek rite living in Czechoslovakia suffered the same fate in 1950. Although repressive administrative measures were unable to break the stamina of these Churches, there is at present no legal opportunity for a normal, open Church life in these countries. The Greek Catholic Diocese of Krizevci in Yugoslavia is quite small; it does not have more than 50,000 faithful throughout the entire country. The apostolic exarchate which has existed in Poland since 1934 for the Ruthenians and Armenians has only about 100,000 faithful.) The Diocese of Hajdúdorog is the largests Byzantine-rite Catholic community in Eastern Europe that is able to carry on its activity in a relatively free manner.

It is therefore possible that this diocese's development could serve as a model in dealing with the Oriental Churches in the other countries of Eastern Europe.

The diocesan bishop of Hajdúdorog also hopes to see an ecumenical development take place in his diocese in a different direction: He would like to see the gradual development of a model situation in which, in addition to the complete unity of the Greek Catholic community with the Church in Rome, the genuine values of the Greek Orthodox Church would come to be appreciated in an authentic way, whereby his diocese could function as a bridge in a process of reconciliation between Rome and the faith communities of the Orthodox Churches. The Orthodox faith communities of the Eastern Churches look upon the ties of the Greek Catholic Church with Rome as something negative which is better rejected than imitated due to the inherent danger of "latinization" and centralization along the lines of Roman church organization. The ecumenical efforts of Bishop Timkô at establishing closer ecumenical ties among the Churches along the lines laid down by Vatican II is most commendable - although such an undertaking will not be easy to carry out.

Please send us a copy of the publications or articles in which information from HIS Press Service is used.

Published by the Hungarian Institute for Sociology of Religion /HIS/ - President:

Bishop Stefan László, S.D.,Eisenstadt - Editorial Board: Emeric András,Ph.D./Vienna/, Julius Morel, Ph.D /Innsbruck/, Julianna Ujváry M.A./Vienna/. - A— I I 40 Wien,

Linzer Str. 263/1-, Phone /0 22 2/ 94 21 89. Österr.Postsparkassenkto. 7739 006.

Eigentümer, Herausgeber und Verleger: Ungarisches Kirchensoziologisches Institut.

Für den Inhalt verantwortlich: Dr.Emmerich András. Beide: A—II40 Wien, Linzer Str.263/18. Druck: Offsetschnelldruck Anton Riegelník, A-1080 Piaristengasse 19.