Magyar News, 1997. szeptember-1998. augusztus (8. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1997-11-01 / 3. szám
r The Dokus Memorial in Fony with Rev. Bojtor and Bishop Mészáros The Spirit of a Hungarian Girl Margaret Fekete Csóványos The shrill whistle of a speeding train, To save her life was all in vain. Her spirit soared high Into the air, The Lord embraced her in His care Twos the year of eighteen eighty-nine, Her spirit lingered like a shrine. Inspired her kin to organize A House of Worship small in size. Hearts turned back to their native land, To call Gabriel Dokus on demand. In eighteen ninety-three they arrived The Hungarian Reformed Church since survived. In eighteen ninety-six they dedicated The church which grew as members emigrated. The spirit of a Hungarian girl For ninety years shines like a pearl. 1983 This summer there was a celebration in Hungary honoring a minister who lived and worked among us. From May 23 to the 26th the small village along the Hemad river was an exciting and busy place to be. Many Protestant ministers from near-by. from all parts of Hungary , the neighboring countries and from far away places as America gathered in Fony around Rev. Bojtor the local pastor. These were the days when the Dokus Memorial was dedicated. The stone relief was created by noted artist, sculptor István Borsos. Unfortunately my visit to Hungary happened a few days later and I missed participating in the events and touring the area. My father came from the next village. Hejce, that was host to the visitors for a Sunday breakfast. Other settlements carved their names into the history book, like Gonczruszka. Vizsoly where the first Hungarian Bible was translated and published. It was named after the village and the minister, called the Vizsolyi Biblia or the Karolyi Biblia. This environment and the Sárospatak Kollegium laid the ground for the celebrated minister. Reverend Alexander Dokus. Rev. Dokus, though he was a native of Kovácsvágás, after graduating from the Teachers' College in Sárospatak, settled in Fon\ and married Barbara Kvancz They had three childrea ail bovs. In 1893 he was called to America and they had three more children. He came here as a very loved teacher, invited by the people from his area who immigrated, and was asked to be their Page 6 mimster. Till then the Hungarian protestants of Norwalk attended the German church. The decision and support from the German church came after a little Hungarian girl had an accident and there was nobody around to understand her or talk to her. In a short time, finishing the studies and the requirements, the teacher was ordained as a Protestant minister. Rev. Dokus didn’t limit his work to the South Norwalk Church. He was asked at the same time to serve as pastor of the First Hungarian Reformed Church in Bridgeport until a full-time pastor was secured two years later. The Board of Home Missions of the Reformed Church in the United States (the former German Reformed Church) also asked him to render assistance to other reformed Hungarian communities, ranging from Trenton, New Jersey to Sydney and Nova Scotia, Canada. This work covered a thousand miles. In fifteen years Rev. Dokus established 12 Hungarian Reformed Churches. He was also one of the founders of the Hungarian Reformed Federation of America in 1896. As the pastor of the church in Norwalk he served with distinction for 39 years, until his retirement in 1932. The same year both the Reverend Dokus and his wife passed away Their sons, Gabncl and Alexander became Hungarian Reformed ministers. The two daughters married Hungarian ministers, Bertha married Rev. Samuel Horvath from Tarcal. Elizabeth married Rev. Karoly Bogár from Ujfeherto. Rev. Dr. Theodore Horvath lost his father. Rev. Samuel, in an accident in Pennsylvania, and his mother with 5 children moved back to South Norwalk and were part of the Dokus household. Eventualy he became a Hungarian minister and was ordained in the South Norwalk Church. Because of a knee surgery he wasn’t able to participate in the memorial dedication but his younger brother. Edward with his wife. Marily n from Texas, a cousin, Louis Bogár w ith his wife Hemline, from Ohio, represented the Dokus family. The Sunday afternoon dedication started with the worship by Bishop Mészáros then István Hogye, museum director talked about the Dokus family. Rev. John Butosi. from our area, who served for 17 years at the South Norwalk Hungarian Reformed Church and lived in the same parsonage as Rev. Dokus was the speaker. He underlined the outstanding pastoral quality of Rev. Dokus. He also emphasized the symbolic importance of the memorial established on Hungarian land for a minister whose work was done in America. It is to call attention to the fact that people within the Hungarian borders, or as a minprity in previous Hungarian land and those scattered in far countries, all belong together and should serve the same mission. I would like to close with a line from a letter 1 received írom William Sontra "ft was my honor to be confirmed by Rev. Dokus. J.F.B.
