Magyar News, 1992. szeptember-1993. augusztus (3. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)

1992-10-01 / 2. szám

THE EARLY YEARS FIRST STEPS OVER THE THRESHOLD Our story begins with a travelogue. One of the first known Hungarian visitors to the United States was Sándor Farkas. Farkas traveled extensively following his arrival in 1831. His travels took him some 2500 miles into the heart of the still growing republic. Sándor Farkas’s journey would not have much interest in our story except for the fact that when he returned to Hun­gary he wrote a book relating to his adven­tures. The book was entitled Utazás Észak Amerikaban (Travels in North America). After his book was published in 1835, and its popularity spread, it soon went through numerous other printings. The significance of Farkas’s work lies in the way it com­pared early 19th century America and Hun­gary. Suffice it to say, Hungary did not fair well in the comparison. All of the weak­nesses of Hungary’s semi-feudal system were exposed. It was partly because of accounts by travelers like Farkas, that an idealized image of America developed which was admired from afar. However, many Hungarians did not attempt the jour­ney to the new world. It would take the combined forces of revolution and eco­nomic necessity to bring that about. It was the ill-fated Hungarian revolt of 1848 which resulted in the first significant Hungarian involvement with the United States before the turn of the century. As is known to most Hungarians, Louis Kossuth was one of the leaders of the failed Hungarian Revolt of 1848 against Austria. After the Russians were called in by the desperate Habsburgs, defeat of the various Magyar armies followed in rapid seces­sion. As a result, Kossuth fled Hungary for Turkey and ultimately received permission to visit the United States in 1851-52. Kossuth ’s purpose was to bring the cause of Hungary’s independence to the land of Washington and Jefferson. As would again happen almost one hundred years later, Hungarians would be disappointed. Sadly, Kossuth’s crusade did not fit into the na­tional interests of the United States, and he departed without American guarantees of military support. Even though Kossuth’s visit did not fulfill its purpose, it fits into our story because Kossuth was accompanied by another Hungarian ex-patriot, Gedeon Ács. Gedeon Ács is an important character in our story because he conducted the first known Hungarian Reformed church ser­vice in the United States. The date of this “first” was March 14, 1852 in New York City. Gedeon Ács did not make the grand tour of the United States with Kossuth. Rather he remained in New York to tend to the spiritual needs of the small Hungarian colony. Unfortunately, the only account we have of Ács’s ministry, comes from an­other Hungarian who was also in New York at that time, László Károly. In Károly’s memoirs we have the following reference. On Sunday forenoon we went to a Hun­garian church service. These services were made possible by the generosity of an inter­­esledNew York lady who gathered together several like minded women and collected enough money to pay Gedeon Ács $200 quarterly. He held services in the Hungar­ian language for the Hungarian immigrants in a German Protestant church. There were regularly in attendance 50 to 60 people among whom were Miss Day and several English and German women. As might be expected, the fledgling Hungarian mission conducted by Ács be­gan to dwindle after the departure of Kossuth in 1852. The small Hungarian community which was left behind could not support Ács’s ministry to his satisfaction. Because of the financial insecurities Ács was forced to try his luck in Boston. But, even there he could not generate enough income and sup­port to keep his mission going. The sad truth was that Ács had to supplement his income by working in a photography stu­dio. This was all intolerable for a man whose calling was to minister to God’s people. The discouraging years finally cul­minated in his returning to Hungary in 1860 where he died two years later. Gedeon Ács will always be remembered as a pioneer in Hungarian Reformed church life. S till, we cannot classify what he did as more than a unique personal ministry. The actual beginnings of the what we could call Hungarian Reformed spiritual work in the United States did not begin until some thirty years later. We can thank the Presbyterian Church for making the first serious attempts at meeting the needs of the Hungarian Re­formed people living in America during the middle of the 19th century. The New York Presbytery was responsible for bringing Francis Kecskeméthy to the United States from Hungary. Kecskeméthy conducted the first church service on September 15,1881, in New York at the Union College. It was with the support and encouragement of the New York Presbytery, that Kecskemcthy began his ministry. In reality, however, he faced a monumental task. Between the time of the Ács mission and the arrival of Kecskeméthy, the Hungarian colony in the United States was very small. By 1870, the year we have any reliable census information, for example, there were only 3,737 reported Hungarians in the United States. Taking this small national total into consideration, it is not surprising thatany kind of mission like Kecskemclhy’s would face the hardship of limited involve­ment and inadequate financial support. Even though New York was the main entry way into the United Slates and had a relatively large concentration of Hungar­ians, Kecskemcthy found his mission at­tempts disappointing. The support and en­couragement of the Presbyterian Church were not enough to overcome the indiffer­ence he encountered among the Hungar­ians. Attendance at his worship services were sparse, actually no better than the numbers Ács attracted twenty years earlier. After only 2 1/2 years Kecskeméthy re­turned to Hungary. We can rightly call his attempt less than a success. Still, we can laud his dedicated missionary spirit which caused him to leave his homeland and try to minister in a strange new land and in the midst of an uncon­cerned Hungarian population. One signifi­cant result of his time in the United States, however, was his accounts of life in America which further fanned the sparks of imagina­tion in Hungary. Also, Kecskeméthy trans­lated a number of American hymns which he published in Hungary. We can summarize the beginnings of the Hungarian Reformed Church in the United States as a missionary' endeavor which was ahead of its time. Who knows what suc­cesses Ács or Kecskeméthy might have had if a larger and more supportive community was in place. Actually, it would be almost ten years before there were sufficient Hun­garian Reformed immigrants in the United S tates to support a truly successful mission­ary effort. Yet, we have, to commend the struggles of Gedeon Ács and Francis Kecskeméthy. Also, we must credit the Presbyterian Church in the United States for leading the way by attempting to minister to the small, but growing Hungarian immigrant popula­tion. Yet, even though this venture at an organized mission, supported by a major church body was not successful, it would be a mistake to come to the conclusion that the spiritual needs of the immigrants were not being dealt with. The vacuum left by the absence of pastoral leadership and denomi­national support was filled by a strong lay ministry. In our next installment in this series we will see the important part that laymen played in the formative years of the Hungarian Reformed Church in the United States including our area. Rev. Dr. Anthony Szilágyi KALMAN FÖLDI Home Remodeling Carpentry Work Roofing Painting Sheetrocking (203) 384-2932 FAX (203) 333-5298

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