Magyar Egyház, 1984 (63. évfolyam, 1-5. szám)
1984-01-01 / 1. szám
8. oldal MAGYAR EGYHÁZ Worship belongs to the whole people of God. They worship together and share together in order to be “a light of the world,” i.e., to radiate the Gospel out of the church into the world, where they also live, in order to be involved. In the work of these committees it is becoming clear that true worship also includes visiting the sick, taking care of the disabled and'doing everything possible for the reconciliation of people at all levels of life, including that of the family, and that of international problems such as disarmament and peace and justice in the world. For us the word peace is not a slogan, but is full of meaning. The older generation in this country experienced all the cruelties and inhumanities of the Second World War. We know what it is to live in constant fear and uncertainty. We also have sad experiences of losing our loved ones in the destruction caused by “only” a “conventional” war. Not to speak of the possibilities of a nuclear war. That is why we are committed to doing everything possible for our children and grandchildren that they may have a future. We see all the problems of family life, the life of our society, and international order as an integral part of our Christian responsibility. The meetings of the “serving committees” offer us good opportunities to understand more and more deeply our responsibility as Christians for the cause of humankind. The involvement of our women in the life of the church is like a fruit which in due time gets ripe and is ready for use. We hope that the seeds of the fruit will not remain alone but will bring forth more fruit in the future as well. ECUVIEW: ALBANIA AND RELIGION The following is excerpted from a background paper prepared for a colloquium of “Christianity, Human Rights and Confidence Building.” It met last month in Bucharest under the auspices of the Churches’ Human Rights Program for the Implementation of the Helsinki Final Act” [EPS 82.10.75J. The radical suppression of all organized religious activity in Albania ever since 1967 is causing grave concern, even though this government is the only one in Europe which has not signed the Helsinki Final Act. One is, among other things, struck by the fact that Albania’s chief of state, Enver Hoxcha has declared his country to be “the world’s first atheistic state.” He has also expressed the hope that the rest of the world would follow his example sooner or later. It is reported that 2,169 churches, mosques and monasteries have been closed down. Many of these have been converted to “secular use.” Others have been destroyed outright. Private worship is forbidden. Punishment is severe for those who are caught. Although there are many protests, these make no impression on Albania leadership. Moreover, the isolation of this small nation makes it virtually impossible to gather reliable information. Very little is known on the impact of these measures upon the daily life and thinking of the people. Albania’s attitude towards religion cannot be disassociated from this historical back-ground. For instance, the government’s occasional sharp attacks against the Vatican recall memories of occupation by the Venetians and the Italians, were Catholic churches were seen as agents of cultural penetration. In a similar way, Orthodox religious activity appears to remind the Albanian government of Greek territorial claims along its southern frontier. The strong-hand “solution” against these fears — real or imagined — was found in radical secularization, which did not even favor the Muslim majority. Integration along secular lines (“Albania as religion” — Enver Hoxcha) seemed the only way out. It recalls, in some way, Ataturk’s secularization policy after 1923 in Turkey. The census of 1938 gave the following religious distribution: 69% Muslim, 20.7% Orthodox, 10.3% Roman Catholics. There is no information on the present situation. The Hoxcha government declared, in 1944 already, that the existence of the different religious communities was a danger to national unity, and it took severe measures to restrict their influence. In 1949 the Orthodox Church had to sever its relations with the Ecumenical Patriarchate in Constantinople. As a newly autocephalous church it elected, in 1966, its own primate in the person of Bishop Damien Kononessi. Roman Catholics were compelled to sever relations with the Vatican in 1950. Several bishops and priests were liquidated and foreign clergy deported. Fear of the political intensions of the Vatican and of the Greek government were cited as key reasons. After the dissolution of religious communities in 1967, Bishop Kononessi was arrested. He died in prison in 1973. No ready-made solution seems available to promote religious liberty in Albania. Condemnations probably only serve to harden existing attitudes. Most likely, a new generation will have to arise in Albania leadership which may be willing to reconsider religious liberty. Christians outside Albania could, however, use the time until then in order to prepare the ground for a future dialogue with Albanians. Such a dialogue would have to be animated by a respect for Albania’s national independence, development and unity. The wounds historically caused to Albania by religious divisiveness must be healed by a careful process of mutual forgiveness and reconciliation. EPS ATTENTION The Hungarian Reformed Church of San Francisco, hereby announces that our Pastor, Rev. Orosz Barna Ödön resigned his office as of January 15. We request all those pastors, who are interested in serving our congregation to report their requests to the Bishop, Rt. Rev. Dezső Ábramám or call the Chief-Elder of the congregation Mr. Magyary-Kossa István (415) 235-6694.
