Magyar Egyház, 1955 (34. évfolyam, 1-10. szám)
1955-01-01 / 1. szám
8 MAGYAR EGYHÁZ THE FREE MAGYAR REFORMED CHURCH IN AMERICA The Free Magyar Reformed Church in America was established on December 9, 1924. She is a spiritual offspring of the Reformed Church of Hungary. She has her own Constitution and By-Laws, based on the Synod- Presbyterian Order. She has a highly educated and welltrained ministry, publishes a monthly magazine, maintains a mission field, supports recognized charitable institutions, and steadily increases the number of her member-congregations. The number of congregations is 29, membership is 8,000. * * * The migration of Magyars (Hungarians) to America started in great numbers toward the close of the nineteenth century. We find churches organized as early as 1890. In 1896 the first Classis or Presbytery was formed in Trenton, N. J., but split into two groups: one accepting the Reformed Church of Hungary as its mother-church (1904), the other was received into the membership of the Reformed Church in the U.S. (1905). In the meantime, The Presbyterian Church started her mission work among Hungarians (1900). After World War I, in consequence of the dismemberment of Hungary, the mother-church could no longer support the churches and made an agreement with the Reformed Church in the United States (Tiffin, Ohio, 1921). Consequently the majority of the Hungarian Reformed congregations joined the Reformed Church in U.S., some joined the Presbyterian Church, (a few joined others) and some were inclined to form a body of their own. The independent movement, so called, started in 1921. After two years of loose relationship among independent congregations seven of them formed the Free Magyar Reformed Church in America on December 9, 1924, at a Constitutional or General Assembly held at Duquesne, Pa. By 1928 we had 14 congregations, and for administrative reasons (because of the large geographical area) they formed two classes in the Synod. The growth of the Church did not stop there; for example, during the last five years 12 congregations were organized, or received by us. At the present time we have 26 congregations and 3 filias. The churches are located in the following states: Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan, California, and Ontario, Canada. Mission congregations in Montevideo, Uruguay, and Buenos Aires, Argentina, with several stations in South America. Our confessional standards are the same as those of the Reformed Church of Hungary; the Heidelberg Cathecism and the Second Helvetic Confession. We are deeply rooted in the sixteenth century Reformation, and a spiritual offspring of the historical Calvinism as it developed in Hungary during the four centuries of Protestantism. The Free Magyar Reformed Church in America faithfully followed the Synod-Presbyterian Order, authoritative on the high constitutional levels and using the Presbyterian system on the local level. We do not consider our Church large enough to elect a bishop; we call our highest ranking official archdean, and the classes are headed by the deans. On each constitutional level we have lay officers in equal number with the clergy, chief curator (Synod) and curators (Classis), secretaries, etc. Our General Assembly consists of equal representation of clergy and laymen. All positions are filled by election. The Constitution and By-Laws, as amended at the last Assembly at Trenton, N. J., on July 5-6, 1945, are being prepared to be printed both in Hungarian and English. The last edition, (1940), was printed only in Hungarian. The majority of our ministers were educated and ordained by the Reformed Church of Hungary, some of us are American trained; all attained a high scholastic record, many of us received post graduate degrees from Union and Princeton Seminaries. The Church through her committee examines and qualifies her ministers before issuing a privilege of call. Candidates who graduate from seminaries in America are examined, in addition, also in special Hungarian subjects: Hungarian Church History, Liturgy, Confessions, and Law. We have 24 ministers. We publish a monthly paper, Magyar Church, which is bilingual. It has been published continually for thirtythree years, presently in 3000 copies; its subscription is growing. It is financed solely by members, through the congregations, by quota system. From time to time we have other special publications, especially tracts for our young people. As a united project of all Hungarian Reformed and Presbyterian groups the Hungarian Hymnal was published. Our mission field is South America, especially Uruguay and Argentina, where two ministers are maintained. Some aid is being sent also to Brazil, though that church is entirely independent. We supported until recently (and in principle it is still in force) The Evangelical World Service. Charity work, other than the post-war relief packages to Hungary and Western Europe, is maintained continually. We are united in this work with other Hungarian groups in America by supporting the Bethlen Home, Ligonier, Pa. We are a member of the World Presbyterian Alliance. We have severed our relationship with the International Council of Christian Churches. Official action was taken at the last General Assembly in July of this year. At the same time, and by a unanimous action of the Assembly, we are seeking membership in the World Council of Churches and in the National Council of Churches. Also, though we differ politically, we regard the Reformed Church of Hungary not only as the bulwark of Calvinism in Central Europe but a witness even in present circumstances, and the bearer of our heritage. Her members are our brethren in the household of faith, and we are in cordial relationship with them. A word of evaluation. We are thirty years old; old enough to talk about stability because of our historical roots in the Protestant Reformation and because of our present conditions in America; we are young enough to be a growing church. In our bilingual work we reached the stage where the English language is equally used and in some congregations it is the dominant language. The majority of our ministers are middle age with a sizable group under 40 years of age. In the last two years we built three churches. There is no doubt in our mind that we are here to stay. But it is not our intention to work in isolation: while we wish to work in cooperation with other Hungarian groups of our faith, we long to be accepted in the great family of churches, in the World and National Councils. We feel it is a worthwhile aim in the year of our thirtieth anniversary. Stephen Szőke.
