Magyar Egyház, 1964 (43. évfolyam, 3-9. szám)

1964-07-01 / 7. szám

MAGYAR EGYHÁZ

9

churches could not send delegates because of other reasons. The three Reformed churches from the Soviet Union (the largest of them, The Reformed Church of Trans-Carpathian Ukraine is a Hungarian speaking church) and the church from Communist China were absent.

Delegates of all kinds of gatherings are usually flooded with booklets, pamphlets, mimeographed drafts, guidelines, membership lists and Frankfurt was no exception. It should be noted, however, that a 104 page Handbook was compiled and published by the Alliance headquarters in Geneva containing a one page, short description of each member church. A very commendable idea! From its forword we know that the idea for this publication came from the charming assistant secretary of the Alliance, Miss Paulette Piguet.

At the middle of this handbook on pages 52 and 53 you can read about the “United Church of Christ” and “The Hungarian Reformed Church in America.” How was our denomination presented to the more than four hundred delegates of the 19th General Council? Let us quote from this Handbook:

“In 1921, the Reformed Church of Hungary transferred its two American classes to the Reformed Church in the United States (later to become the Evangelical and Reformed Church, and now the United Church of Christ). But certain Hungarian Reformed congregations, which refused to accept the Tiffin Agreement concluded between the mother Church in Hungary and the Reformed Church in the U.S., then organized an independent body called the Free Magyar Reformed Church in America on December 9, 1924. There were only six congregations and five ministers. The Free Magyar Reformed Church emphasized its confessional heritage, such as the Second Helvetic Confession and the Heidelberg Catechism as the time honored standards of the Hungarian Reformed tradition. One of its objections to acceptance of the Tiffin Agreement was based on doctrinal grounds. The Church, of which the other Hungarian congregations had become a part, did not have the Second Helvetic Confession as a doctrinal standard. The Free Magyar Reformed Church also emphasized the voluntary membership principle, claiming that Hungarian Reformed congregations in the New World should be self-supporting. The Church developed a mission program which resulted in the growth of new congregations in many parts of the United States. In 1958, it changes its name to the Hungarian Reformed Church in America and the first bishop was eleceted, Dr. Zoltán Beky. Today, there are three Classes and some 31 congregations. The Church became a member of the Alliance in 1952, of the National Council of Churches in the USA in 1957, and of the World Council of Churches in 1959.”

From this description it is evident that there are other Hungarian Reformed churches, notably within the United Church of Christ, although any such reference is missing in the article on that denomination. This omission was counterbalanced by the many other references to the significance of the Hungarian Reformed tradition for many churches in all parts of the world: in the article on the “Christian Reformed Church of Brazil” we read, “The Church started among immigrants from Central Europe and used the Magyar language. It continues its special

care of immigrants, but, at the same time, it has enlarged its sphere to become a national Church wih services in Portuguese ... The Church accepts the Second Helvetic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism and — as a special and historic confession — the Profession of the first Reformed Church organized in Brazil in the year 1557 by ministers sent here by John Calvin.”

About the Reformed Church of Slovakia we read: “In view of increasing secularisation, the Synod seeks every means to ensure that teaching in new contemporary forms should remain an essential ingredient in the life of congregations, using the Heidelberg Catechism and the Second Helvetic Confession in alternate years . .. More than threequarters of the congregations are Hungarian-speaking. ..”

We could go on and quote from the articles on the Reformed Churches of Hungary, Rumania, Yugoslavia, Austria and Poland. It is to the credit of our Canadian Presbyterian brethren that they mentioned their Hungarian congregations.

Not only in the Handbook, but among the delegates there were Hungarian Reformed people from all parts of the world! The Reformed Church of Hungary sent seven delegates, the Transylvanian Church (Rumania) two, the Reformed Church of Slovakia four, Yugoslavia two. There were three Hungarian delegates from Brazil. Both delegates of the Reformed Church of Austria were Hungarians. One of the delegates of the Reformed Church in Denmark was also of Hungarian descent. The president of the Calvin Synod, Rev. Arpad George, was a delegate of the United Church of Christ. Among the full delegates there were twenty-six Hungarians, with visitors and press people the total number of Hungarian people attending the Frankfurt meeting was more than forty. That an informal gathering of all Hungarian Reformed delegates could be held is due to the warm personality and negotiating tactfulness of our Bishop. Bishop Baky was the host of this unique and historic meeting on Sunday, August 9th.

James E. Andrews:

THIS HAPPENED IN FRANKFURT

No. 1 was a Swiss pastor from the ancient mountains that produced Zwingli. No. 810 was a professor from the Thailand Theological Seminary. Between them lay more than 400 years of the Reformed faith and its extension to every inhabited continent.

Between them too were the registration numbers from 2 to 809, of the other delegates, observers, consultants, staff, press representatives and visitors, who came to Frankfurt/Main, Germany, to make the 19th General Council of the World Presbyterian Alliance the largest in its history.

Carrying plastic attaché cases provided for all participants by the local arrangements committee and wearing name tags topped by a massive silver pin bearing the rose-amid-the-thorns emblem of the Frankfurt Reformed Churches, the delegates made their presence felt throughout the city. They packed into trolleys and buses each morning for the trip from their hotels to the Goethe University campus for the meetings of the General Council, and into Frankfurt’s churches for the worship services, a concrt and public lectures which made up the popular element of the program.

And they worked! From the opening service on Monday evening, August 3 to the concluding Holy Com-