Hungarian Church Press, 1950 (2. évfolyam, 4-13. szám)

1950-03-15 / 5. szám

-6-this delegation. I believe that I speak for all of us when I say: we shall be with him in spirit, for the whole Lutheran Church, with all her members, unanimously belongs to the peace camp which is led by the powerful Soviet Union!"

"Reverend assembly! I fully realize th cL*t/ "fcllü task that awaits me as the Inspector of the „-anya Synod is no easy one.This is the largest Synod of our Lutheran Church and has the largest share of the urgent and unsolved problems; The problems concerning the inner renewal of our church have a special urgency in this Synod. I am taking over a considerably onerous legacy. I tell you frankly that, in solving these problems, I shall be led by no bias, but only by the.good intention of serving my church.

I want to cooperate with all who have the same good intention, I have just said that the relation between church and state rests on solid pillars. ..et we must realize that, in the course of separating our church from the state, new problems, concerning the details, will arise. By solving these problems, I shall try to bring about a better harmony between church and state. I shall always try to servo tue best interests of our church. But I must also say frankly: I shall be against anybody'3 hiding reactionary politioal designs behind imaginary grievances. It is a task which concerns not only our synod, but the entire Lutheran Church that our church polity be changed in such a way as to fit into the new circumstances. Our Synod must take its párt in this work. In the course of this reform, the obsolete part of our church constitution must be eliminated. The boundaries of the synods and presbyteries must be altered, according to the new demarcation of administrative areas , and according to the smaller framework of our church. I believe that the new church constitution must take into consideration the new development of the country in order to open up the way for the development of a living, missionary, people's cnurch and for new methods and possibilities, This demands the active work of the new General assembly, with such members who are fit to undertake this rebuilding work. In the same manner, on all levels of church government, from the consistories upwards, there is a need for church workers who work for the renewal of the church. It is necessary to create, Tseside the state support, an independent economic basis for our church. We cannot and should not rely on the help from abroad, but on our own resources. Our church should economise, yet not by reducing the number of workers. It is also in this respect that we should hold to the principle that man is the highest value. This means that we should adequately care for our>church workers and to eliminate the disproportions in their income. It is al so important that the various works of our church which have the same aim should be integrated."

"Reverend assembly! I realize that, by solving the problems which concern the organization of our church, we do not bring about a renewal. It is the spirit that must be renewed. That powerful historical change in which we too take part offers a marvellous opportunity for this. Hungarian Protestantism, and with it our own church has the grand opportunity to become again a creative force in the life of the Hungarian people. Yet to achieve this end, one .cannot take the attitude of Pietistic

Hungarian Church Press