Sárospataki Füzetek 21. (2017)

2017 / 2. szám - RESEARCH PAPERS-FORSCHUNGSMATERIALIEN - Pándy-Szekeres Dávid: Elements of a triangular relationship: the presbyterian church in canada, ethnic Hungarian congregations of the presbyterian curch in canada and the reformed church of hungary

Research Papers | Forschungsmaterialien

Dávid Pándy-Szekeres

ELEMENTS OF A TRIANGULAR RELATIONSHIP:

THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN CANADA, ETHNIC HUNGARIAN CONGREGATIONS OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH IN CANADA AND THE REFORMED CHURCH OF HUNGARY1

The Presbyterian Church in Canada (PCC) traces its origins to communities of faith established in a region of the New World which was later to be called Canada. The first such communities, or congregations, which eventually organized themselves into what today is known as the PCC, were established by immigrants from the British Isles, a majority of these immigrants being from Scotland, and from the United States. Emigration to Canada, however, was by no means limited to men and women of exclusively British heritage. Individuals, families and even groups from many of the other European countries had also been making the long and difficult move across the Atlantic Ocean to settle in this same new land in order to begin a new life, all carrying the hope that the new life would prove to be better than the one left behind.

The pace of immigration accelerated somewhat when efforts were made by the Canadian government to encourage the opening up of the regions lying to the west of Ontario, the major enticement being offered to new settlers in the late 1800s was free land in the form of an allocated homestead of a “quarter section”, this being equal to one hundred sixty acres. It was at this time that the first settlers of Hungarian ethnicity made their way to Saskatchewan and established various communities, some of which were more lasting than others. Subsequent waves of Hungarian immigrants to Canada would settle mostly elsewhere, mostly in urban settings anywhere from Montreal to Vancouver. Each successive wave of Hungarian immigrants brought with it different political and cultural views and perspectives which in themselves are an important part of the mosaic of Hungarian-Canadian communities, but, for the purposes and inherent limitations of this study, these aspects will not be discussed except to occasionally provide needed clarification. A study of these Hungarian-Canadian communities reveals that the most significant and influential institution in their midst was the church, especially in the case of the earlier settlements.

“From the early days of Hungarian settlements on the Canadian Prairies to the present, Hungarian Canadians have maintained a great variety of institutions. The most important of these have been the churches, which have rendered invaluable spiritual and practical services to their congregations and, through them, to the Country as a whole. Hungarian-Canadian history has many heroes, and most of

1 The use of the term "Reformed Church of Hungary" is understood to extend, in this case, to all the church bodies physically belonging to this church until the post-war treaties of 1921. At present, the church bodies separated from the mother church in 1921 function as independent Reformed churches within the political boundaries of countries bordering on Hungary.

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