Hungarian Church Press, 1957 (9. évfolyam, 14-15. szám)

1957-12-31 / 15. szám

HCHP XII. 31,1957, Vol. K/15-16- 6 -184

te acknowledge that there is something in the enthusiastio patriotism-of the Chinese Christians which directly lives on the everlasting sources of the Christian love. They might have been pushed to contribute to the restauration of peace among rations, surpassing their quota by f;ar, by the devotion to the Prince of Peace and the love learned from Him, I am sure.

Speaking of the ecumenical service he characterized bishop Ting as

follows:- Bishop Ting is one of the most fervent worker of the idea of Christian unity# He runs such a Theological Academy which is a common undertaking of 19 denominations and he ^oyfuly renders account of the fact - while before the liberation dissensions and oonpetitions had characterized the relation among the ohurches in China — now they are living in an ever more tighter cooperation.Postering the ties with the churches abroad is in the spirit of the oneness of the Church in Christ, and bishop Ting bears the brunt of the utmost responsibility in that,- We look at the friendship of the peoples of the People’s China and the Hungarian People’s Democracy in terms of Christ’s sovereignty ard we wish wholeheartedly that the brotherly ties of the Chinese and Hungarian Christians may strengthen the friendship of the two countries cither, and thus they may contribute to develop peaoe among the nations and form a happier future for mankind.- We are thankful for all we have received from bishop Ting, We wanted to learn from him and the Chinese Christians, for the irrportance of the word "doctor" is litterally meant according to the ceremony of conferring the degree of doctor: wc declare a doctor of the Church who 'is equal to the tasks as faithful steward of God’3 mysteries; he should, teach us and the whole Christianity with catholic faith all he had also received of the revelation of the lord of the Una Sancta through his obedient service - ended his proposal address Deputy Dean Czeglédy,

Then on invitation delivered in Latin language by Dean Dr. Endre Tóth, Bishop Ting made the doctors’ vow, took over the diploma of the Academy end shook hands with the dean and the staff of the faculty.

Excerpts of the inaugurating lecture of D,Dr.

K.B# Ting- It is a cause for thanksgiving that the Churches of Hungary and China, hitherto almost completely orientated towards the west, can in recent years discover one another, live to one another as fellow-members of the Body cf Christ and strengthen one another in our common vocation of bearing witness to Christ. Socialism is introducing a new quality into many of our relationships, inter-Church relationships not excepted. It is only now that between Churches a new relation,

free from motives ulterior to the gospel and inimical to the interest of our peoples, can develop# We believe that the strengthening of the bond of unity of this new type between us will exert a wholesome influence on our relations with Churches in capitalist countries.

/ Then bishop Ting pointed out that he felt the respect and love manifested towards his church and people in conferring honour on hie?, then said:- One engaging himself in theological work must realize that he is not doing so in a vacuum. Anchoring his faith in Jesus Christ who is the same yesterday and today and for ever, he faces in every age the unfamiliar issues which history brings forward to his pecple and to his Church. Thus we are to come into the new not with grudge, but with joy. In China the Libcratian marks an inportant turning point in our theological life. It more than, anything else has thrown us ■upon our principles. In the next few moments I shall make a few remarks on the Church’s task cf witness as we see it in recent years.

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