Fraternity-Testvériség, 1986 (64. évfolyam, 1-3. szám)

1986-01-01 / 1. szám

FRATERNITY

Page 3

lm re Bertalan:

NORTH AMERICAN CONCERT TOUR OF THE DEBRECEN KANTUS

(Addressing the Ohio State Organizing Committee in Cleveland, Ohio, on January 4, 1986.)

Recently I visited Hungary in my capacity as Chairman of the Tour of the Debrecen Kantus in North America. In Budapest, I had the opportunity to discuss our plans with the representatives of the General Synod of the Reformed Church of Hungary who expressed their joy and deepest admiration for the preparatory work on the part of the host organizations. I then traveled to Debrecen, which is the seat of the Kantus, to take care of practical matters in reference to the most ambitious undertaking in the history of the Kantus.

Since I arrived ahead of the appointed time, I had the opportunity to take a walk through the park that connects the Nagytemplom (the Great Church), which is one of the 14 Reformed Churches in the city, with a seating capacity of 4,000, and the adjoining Kollegium (College) which is one of the noblest educational institutions of the country. On the facade of the main building an inscription proclaims the history of the Kollegium in one short sentence: “Built with the gift of the people of the II Helvetic Confession.” These words bring the cause represented here close to the heart of all of us. We are all descendents of these people who were inspired by that confession and who established that prominent place of education which served the church and nation so well. If you would trace the history of your own family, I am sure you would find among your ancestors those whose lives were touched and influenced by the manifold services of the Kollegium.

For me it was an emotional experience — memory took me by the hand and began to talk to me. My father was prepared for the Christian Ministry in this school and was ordained in the Great Church into the Christian Ministry. Decades later, my oldest brother followed our father’s footsteps and attended the same college as a seminary student, so did my second brother who became kantor and a village teacher as well as my third brother who became a lawyer. As I entered the ancient courtyard, I encountered the wooden steps worn down by countless generations of hustling bustling students sent to Debrecen from thousands of villages from the Eastern side of the Tisza river (which represents the geographic background of the Kollegium). On the staircases and the walls of the oratorium-chapel, there is a veritable exhibit of pictures and busts of former students, those who became leaders of the nation and who through achievements in their respective fields of religion, science and literature, have entered the Hall of Fame of the institution. In silence and reverence, I relived the almost 500 years of history of the Kollegium totally rooted into the history of the nation.

History of the Kollegium

After the Christianization of the Hungarian people in about 1000 A.D., there were two historical events that most effected the life of the nation. The Turkish conquest with the occupation of the country for 150 years by the Turks, and second the renewal of the Christian faith commonly known as the Reformation. This immediately followed the tragic defeat by the Turks in 1526 when the very existence of the nation was threatened to be destroyed. When all hope for the future seemed to be crushed, a religious revival appeared on the western horizon and soon conquered the hearts of the people. Besides the power of preaching and comforting, the Reformation brought about a number of schools for the propagation of faith and the spreading of knowledge. Thus, arose the “Kollegiums” of Sárospatak in 1531, Debrecen in 1538 and Papa in about the same year.

Ministers and professors who studied in the centers of the Reformation: Wittenberg, Geneva, Utrecht, Cracow, etc. modeled the education system of the Kollegium on those experiences and in a similar spirit, and established the highest level of education. In due course, the Debrecen Kollegium developed a nationwide network of 40