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

1950-04-01 / 6. szám

-11-Thus four Synods came int« "being, and the growing number of congregations made it necessary that each of Synods set up their ministers' training schools. Thus we have now four seminaries. The professors' salaries and much of the other expenses are paid by the state.

1, The largest Synod is the Transtibiscan, which also has the largest membership, more than a million, that is nearly the half of the entire membership in the Hungarian Reformed Church. Its historical canter is Debrecen, Its famous school is the College of Debrecen which, until 1914, included the Theological Seminary. This became, in 1914, the Theological Department of the newly establ Lshod Debrecen University, It still belongs to ,he state-maintained and state controlled University. But, after this arrangement, the necessity was felt to provide for the practical training and professional education of theological students.- So a parallel school was set up, the so-called Ministers' Training Institute which is a church school and is an integral part of the College. The theological students are enrolled in both schools. Their number is 94; 84 ?ien and 10 women, 22 in the First Year, - 6 of them women -, 27 in the Second Year, 23 in the Third Year, 17 in the Fourth Year and 7 in the Fifth Year,

In the last school-year, 7 students finished their training. The same number will graduate this year. They will pass, before entering the ministry, two church examinations, one on graduation, and the other after one year's supervised field work. The Examining Committee is headed by the Bishop and includes the Seniors of all Presbyteries, The same system of examination obtains in the other Synods, The Theological Department has 7 regular professors, Most of the students live in a dormitory whicn belongs to the College.

The students compete for school prises,, Some of the themes which concern church life are as follows: "Evangelistic Preaching", "The History of Missionary Work in Indonesia and the Task of the Hungarian Reformed Church on this Field", "The Social Problem in our Church Papers since 1900", "The Conception of the communio sanctorum according to Calvin", "What lessons Can a theologian Learn from the Latest Psychological Research", etc.

2, The historical center of the Transdanubian Synod is Pápa, the site of the Pápa College. This Synod consists largely cf small congregations and many scattered groups of Refohmod people, the so-c,ailed "diaspora". This is the heritage cf the Counter-Reformation vhich was particularly effective in this part of the country, owing to the fact that ehe region lived under an almost continuous Habsburg rule. The pastorá were driven away from mo ; t of the congregations which, nevertheless, went on existing as "orphan" congregations for 70-90 years, A typical example is the Pápa congregation. On one day the landlord drove from the town the whole school, with all professors and students, the ReHungarian Church Press