Szittyakürt, 1978 (17. évfolyam, 1-9. szám)
1978-09-01 / 9. szám
Page 4 FIGHTS* JUNE 1978 RELIGION SALUTE TO A LEADER On September 15, 1974 thousands of visitors, guests, church members, prominent Hungarians and American Congressional and State officials came to Akron, Ohio, to witness the dedication of the Lorantffy Care Center. Since that time thousands more came from across the United States and some from faraway lands like Australia and Europe, to see with their own eyes the greatest monument of Hungarian will and leadership, that exist anywhere in the world outside of Hungary. And there it stands today, the magnificent building, valued more than two million dollars, with the most modern facilities and highly competent Hungarian staff of doctors, nurses, professionals caring for over a hundred aged Hungarian citizens, who can no longer take care of themselves and need a loving peaceful home for the remaining days of their life. This institution is the most up to date care center in the State of Ohio and more. It is an island of Hungarian language, culture, religious center, where our aged citizens live in a community of their own. Only after three years of existence, the Lorantffy Care Center in under an expansion program, to meet the demands of our aged citizens. More and more people are placing their names on the waiting list to live out their life on this small island of Hungarians. And the future is bright with other new possibilities which will contribute to the growth of this Hungarian center. The Lorantffy Care Center has a unique history. Most Hungarians could not believe, that such a large scale project can be brought to a successful conclusion. With todays land, building and labor costs it just seemed too much of a job for a mortal being. The writer of this article has witnessed the birth of this miracle. Ten years ago the Akron Hungarian Reformed Church', the chief sponsor of this project, was in economic distress. Most Hungarian members of the clergy did not want to serve in this parish. They said the community was dying. There is no hope to maintain this church for any length of time. There are not enough Hungarians to support the church, it will become an English speaking congregation. These were the circumstances, when Rev. Tibor Dömötör came to Akron to give a sermon. He spoke the words of faith and resurrection and called for a new beginning. His convincing words, his eloquent message and determination has caught the attention of the church council members. They asked Rev. Dömötör if he would accept to be the minister of their congregation. He accepted the challenge. When Rev. Dömötör appeared in Akron there were little over a dozen of church members who regularly attended services. The Hungarian flag was removed from the church and even the name “Hungarian” was dropped from the name of the congregation. From the moment, when Rev. Dömötör became the minister of the congregation every month became a new milestone of accomplishment. From dawn to sunset he was calling on Hungarians. He gave strength to those who were tired; faith to those who no longer believed, encouragement to those who were troubled. And the people came. The church turned into a home and the parish became a family. Within a few years there was a strong Hungarian congregation. He carried the Hungarian flag back to the church and returned the sign “Hungarian” Reformed Church. The history of the Hungarian Nation offers many examples, when an exceptional leader performed a miracle with a handful of dedicated people. It happened again in Akron, Ohio. After the congregation was on solid ground a new goal was set, building a care center for our aging Hungarians. When Rev. Dömötör their spiritual and patriotic stand during the thousands of years-long Hungarian history. Rev. Dömötör certainly ranks with them. To be a true Hungarian one must poesses the Magyar spirit. Those who had this spirit understood him. Several years ago Rev. Dömötör said in one of his sermons: “Those who have the faith to work for the future, will be rewarded with a future.” He certainly was rewarded with a future, because he believed in Jesus and in the Hungarian spirit and served both relentlessly. He never relinquished one inch of Hungarian Nation. Past October he blessed our young, so they will have courage and the will serve God, country and the old, so they can bear with comfort the burden of age and ill health. Rev. Dömötör’s mission has not been fullfilled yet. There is much to be done, which is his and our destiny. The Hungarian people have never been in greater need of capable creative leaders of his caliber than today. The Hungarians have the will to live, to build; this is documented by the Lorántffy Care Center. But only leadership can make it happen. The type of leadership, which does not make distinction between people on the basis of their social status, economic REV, TIBOR DÖMÖTÖR called on Hungarians across the United States, they responded. Thousands of people gave donations and the work began. The fund raising, the building program and all the headache with regulations was resting on the shoulders of one man, Rev. Dömötör. But his faith and will was greater than all the adversities, and the project was total success. There are two heroes of this miracle, Rev. Tibor Dömötör and the Hungarian people. When I recollect the events that lead to the birth of the Lorantffy Care Center an image appears in front of me of those great Hungarian religious leaders who rose to prominence with land never occupied by other nations, abandoned a single Hungarian soul, never compromised with the enemies of God and the Hungarian Nation. During the 1956 Hungarian Revolution he lead the FreedomFighters of Békés to battle, to expell the alien intruders, the enemies of God and the Hungarian well being, education or religious affiliation. The Very Rev. Tibor Dömötör has earned the confidence and admiration of every Hungarian. He deserves the gratitude, the moral and economic support of every true Magyar. We are proud of him. L. M. Roots of the Hungarian Nation HISTORY Internationally recognized historian, Prof. Ferenc Jos Badiny has made an outstanding contribution to the study of the ancient history of the Hungarian or as we call ourselves the Magyar nation. After decades of research he has compiled overwhelming evidences, which lead to the acceptance that the language of mankind’s most ancient culture is identical with Hungarian. Prof. Ferenc Jos Badiny was born on June 3, in Gács, Hungary. After graduating from the Hungarian Military Academy he served as an officier in the Hungarian Royal Army. In 1940 he left the military and continued his studies at the University of Budapest in language and ancient history. In 1946 he immigrated to Argentina and started his research in Sumerology. He received his first assignements from the Institutum Pontificum Biblicum. As a result of his outstanding abilities and qualifications in 1966 he was elected department chairman for the school of Oriental Studies at the University of Salvador in Buenos Aires, Argentina. In 1967 as a member of the XXVII International Congress of Orientalists he presented his study the “Altaic People’s Theocracy," at Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. In 1971 Prof. Badiny presented his work “The Most Recent Consequences Indicated by the Discovery of the Sumerian — Magyar Identity,” to the XXVIII Orientalist Congress in Canberra Australia. Prof. Badiny is credited with many publications, including his famous book “The Sumerian Wonder. ” This is a recommended reading assignement to anyone who would like to have an insight to mankind’s oldest language and civilization. The Sumerian Wonder is humanity’s scientific treasure. This is how Dr. Ismael Quiles S. J. Director of the Latin American Center of Compared Investigations on the East West, commented on the Sumerian Wonder: “In the research for the first origins of humanity’s culture, the compared investigation is one of the fundamental methods and, in fact, was initially applied to linguistics. Among the ancient cultures of the Mesopotamia, which contains many expressions of our cultures from the West, the Middle East and the Valley of the Indus, the Sumerian civilization is of particular interest. Due to its antiquity, dating from more than 6000 years back, its location in the heart of influence of the remote civilization, it has gained a place of privilege as far as purveying the original bases of a great diversity of languages and cultures. Hungarian. ” A factor that can be considered as of decisive interest of Sumerologists and an important basis for the compared study of cultures, is the close relation which exists between the Sumerian idiom and the modern living language of Eastern Europe, namely the Hungarian. Prof. Francisco Jos Badiny, in pursuing and extending studies made 50 years ago by Father Anton Deimel S. J. and other Sumerologists, has been studying, for many years, the astonishing similarity between the Sumerian and the present Hungarian. The results achieved were presented by Prof. Badiny, sucessively, in recent international Congresses of Orientalists, in order to be submitted to discussion in their various aspects. This volume contains not only the studies made by Prof. Badiny, but also other valuable collaborations of various specialist colleagues. The material obtained and the conclusions arrived at, constitute a very important achievement to be presented for discussion of the Sumerologists. Naturally, although the main subject was the linguistical, it includes as well other aspects of cultural problems of great interest. The Latin American Center of Compared Investigations on the East and West, offers these studies as a contribution in the search of a general consensus in serving science towards a better cultural understanding, and also towards peace and progress of people all over the world. * * * SUMERIAN WONDER Library of Congress Catalogue Card Number: 74-84445 First Published in English, 1974 Copyright Francisco Jos Badiny and M. von Haynal September 30, 1974 School for Oriental Studies of the University of Salvador Buenos Aires, Argentina South America 5 ^
