March 14, 2004
Rev. Dr. Frank Carpenter,
D.Min.
St. John's Unitarian Universalist Church, Cincinnati, OH
Next Saturday evening we will gather for a celebration of our values at the annul Partner Church dinner. We will share various foods of various flavors of the cooking from Transylvania, the section of Romania where our Hungarian Partner church is. There will be Hungarian and Romanian wines. Food will include chicken paprikash, mititei, Mamaliga, with a gourmet strudel for dessert. There will be special must with Transylvania folk songs, thanks to our own Rachel Kramer.
Food selection is a statement of identity. By sharing the cooking of Transylvania, we are making a statement of solidarity with our sister churches in Romania. Traditions are odd things. In years to come we may well consider the Partner Church Dinner as almost a sort of Unitarian Universalist Seder.
The significance of food expressing a solidarity of values can be foundd in Paul Kovi’s TRANSYLVANIA CUISINE. This cook book opens with a poem by the dean of early 20th century Hungarian poets, Mihlay Babits:
I dream about you, Transylvania
when I was an adolescent, Transylvania
mountains and princes
greeted me from afar.
You were my book, Transylvania
you became the house of my youth
and my study.
For three long years, Transylvania
I lived on your soil, Transylvania
I ate your corvette loaf
and scones from Torda.
I knew your colors, Transylvania
your fairly colored autumn, Transylvania
the diamond-edge of your
glass peaks cutting the sky...
The author of the cookbook then asks if it is sacrilege for a poet to remember the food as well as mountains of the land of his dreams? He answers, no, for “Torda connotes religious freedom.” Torda connotes religious freedom in Central Europe for it was there that the Unitarian King, in the Edict of Torda, declared a tolerance of religions.
Even then in cook books we come across traces of our religious heritage. As we celebrate our vales we join in solidarity with the Unitarians of Transylvania. Solidarity is good. I am most recently reminded of the importance of solidarity with our co-religionists by the terrorist bombing in Madrid. WE received a message form the Unitarian Universalists in Spain. It reads:
STATEMENT OF THE UNITARIAN UNIVERSALIST SOCIETY OF SPAIN WITH REGARD TO THE 11 MARCH TERRORIST ATTACKS IN MADRID Regarding the cruel and bloody terrorist attacks that took place in the morning of the 11th of March in Madrid, the Unitarian Universalist Society of Spain, which represents in Spain the Unitarian and Universalist religious tradition, inspired by its fundamental Principals which call us to: honor the inherent worth and dignity of every person, affirm the democratic process, and build a global community based on peace, liberty and justice, declares its absolute and radical condemnation of terrorist violence and affirms that the defense of all human lives and the values of peace and democracy are the only viable and acceptable way to a peaceful coexistence and freedom for all persons and peoples.450 years ago, a peaceful, honest and fair man, Michael Servetus, was sentenced to death at the stake. He was the inspirer, pioneer and first martyr of Unitarianism, and his life and work keep inspiring us who identify ourselves with the Unitarian religious tradition. In his defense, the reformer Sebastian Castellio wrote: "To kill a man is not to defend a doctrine; it is to kill a man." In this spirit, we join together in the grief for the victims and the rejection of any death caused by fanaticism and intolerance.
Our solidarity with Unitarians in Europe, particularly Spain and Transylvania brings us the great gift of reminding us of our deep and rich heritage. For four hundred fifty years our faith has been serving and enriching people’s lives. While the earliest sparks were in Spain, it was in Transylvania, then part of Hungary, where the first continuous Unitarian churches were. And it is with these churches that many American UU congregations have been deepening their alliance. A number of churches has developed covenants with the Partner churches. A
SAMPLE COVENANT
FIRST UNITARIAN CHURCH
SAN JOSE, CALIFORNIA
Resolution Regarding Our Partner Church
The Unitarian Church of Homoródzsentmárton
May 4, 1993WHEREAS the Unitarian Church in Transylvania was the birthplace of the Unitarian religion in the 1500’s,
WHEREAS the Edict of Torda, signed by King John Zsigmond of Transylvania, was the first known declaration of religious freedom and tolerance in Europe,
WHEREAS this example was an inspiration to the Founding Fathers of the United States of America in their inclusion of the doctrine of separation of church and state in our country’s constitution, and
WHEREAS the people of the Unitarian Church in Homoródzsentmárton have worked hard to keep their religion alive throughout the centuries, despite hardship and challenges,
BE IT RESOLVED that we, the Board of Directors of the First Unitarian Church of San Jose, California, USA pledge to keep alive in our church the stories and history of our partner church, the Unitarian Church in Homoródzsentmárton.
AND BE IT ALSO RESOLVED that we will assist in finding support, as we are able, for projects in the Unitarian Church of Homoródzsentmárton to continue in its work.
As this covenant points out, the significance of historic depth, longevity is one of the gifts to our partner congregations. In Hungary during the Reformation, the leader of the Unitarians was Francis David. He was so eloquent and able that the entire royal family was converted to Unitarianism. In early 1568, the Unitarian King, John Sigismund, desiring to end the religious controversy that was dividing his country, called a gathering in Torda , called a diet – another food word ? — to consider the matter. At the end of the diet, following a unanimous vote, the king issued the Act of Religious Tolerance and Freedom of Conscience. This first official freedom of religion governmental act in the modern world, reads:
His Majesty, our Lord, in what manner he – together with his realm – legislated in the matter of religion at the previous Diets, in the same manner now, in this Diet, reaffirms that in every place the preachers shall preach and explain the Gospel each according to his understanding of it, and if the congregation like it, well, if not, no one shall compel them for their souls would not be satisfied, but they shall be permitted to keep a preacher whose teaching they approve. Therefore none of the superintendents or others shall abuse the preachers, no one shall be reviled for his religion by anyone, according to the previous statutes, and it is not permitted that anyone should threaten anyone else by imprisonment or by removal from his post for his teaching, for faith is the gift of God, this come from hearing, which hears by the word of God.
But, as we know, freedom
of religion and freedom of conscience is easer to talk about then to practice.
Within a few short years, the Unitarian King was dead, and Francis David was
imprisoned. It is interesting to note what he was imprisoned for. With the death
of the liberal King, they rulers attempted to put a cap on religious freedom.
They did this by declaring that what was tolerated in religion was the religions
as they were at the time of the edict. They specifically ruled out innovation
in religion. But that was precisely what David was, an innovator in religion.
David began to explore various unsettled issues. He concluded that Lord’s
supper was not a sacrament, but only a meal. He abandoned infant baptism. Then
he began wondering about predestination, and whither it is appropriate to worship
Jesus and invoke him in prayers. He was imprisoned and a trial was held. He
was found guilty of – get this – innovation – and sentenced
to perpetual imprisonment. He died in the dungeon at Deva on Nov 15, 1579, martyr
to the cause of Unitarianism, as was Servetus who was burned at the stake by
John Calvin in Geneva.
Our deep historical roots are then one gift of our Partner churches to our American
congregations. Another gift, mentioned in the San Jose Covenant is, “worked
hard to keep their religion alive throughout the centuries, despite hardship
and challenges.” Their commitment to keep the faith alive must always
remain a strong inspiration to us.
Perhaps the greatest challenge they faced was the Communist regime of Nicolae Ceausecu in Romania. The story is most poignant when we hear of Imre Gellerd. Gellerd graduated from the University of Koloszvar during the Second World War to became a teacher at the Unitarian college and the minister of the Unitarian church near the college.
In 1948 the Communists came to power and he was offered a post in the new Communist government of Romania. He refused, so that he could continue his ministry at the village Unitarian church. So set in train a tragic series of events. In 1959 he was arrested and after five months of preparation with drugs and torture, the Military Court of Kolozsvar sentenced him to seven years of political prison and forced labor. Gellerd was 39. Gellerd’s arrest was part of a general round up of Unitarian seminarians and leaders.
Due to international pressure, Gellerd was released after five years. One of the most brilliant historians of Hungarian history and culture, he picked up his work once again on the meaning of the 400 years of Unitarian sermons in Hungary. As he came close to finishing his dissertation, some reader picked up a sentence that he quoted from an 19th century sermon referring to a peasant revolt in Hungarian history.
Gellerd was rejected from the dissertation program and banned from any further publishing Fearing further imprisonment and harassment for his family – his wife had already been force to divorce him – he took his own life on his 60th birthday, January 3, 1980. Seventy of his ministerial colleagues jeopardized their own standing by attending his funeral. The question of how far minister should go in cooperating with the Communists authorities was a continuing and wrenching one; on one hand lay the matter of personal integrity and conscience, on the other hand the matter of continuing one’s ministry and serving one’s church.
Our own partner church, Nyaradszentlaszlo, suffered along with other Unitarian congregations in Transylvania. A great deal of church property was taken away. A church school next to the minister’s home, and a block away from the church, was taken away. They are hoping to have some return by the present regime for the loses they suffered.
It is interesting to me that Imre Gellerd, having studied four hundred years of Unitarian history in Hungary in detail, knowing intimately the harrowing moments of its existence, would summarize his views of that history saying:
It must be considered positive that our preachers have escaped form the spirit of resignation, desperation, losing heart, passivity, alienation, exaltation, ill-fantasy, sectarianism, and antihumanism as a consequence of suffering.... [O]ur religion was able to produce one of the most optimistic, constructive, and humanist religious systems... Through suffering, special powers and qualities are born in us: unity, solidarity, strong faith, adequate self-knowledge, a sense of historical orientation.
We have learned from them the importance of keeping our liberal faith alive. That is why we respond when they reach out to us, forming an alliance of liberal faith, just as all people must look to allies in life’s battlefield. Let us consider another covenant between an American UU congregation and its partner church:
We, the Bellevue, Washington East Shore Unitarian congregation and the Torockószentgyörgy Transylvania Unitarian congregation, promise to each other:Mi, a bellevuei Washington East Shore Unitárias gyülekezet, és a Torockószentgyörgy unitárius gyülekezet Erdélyben megígérjük egymásnak:
1. This relationship's basis is friendship, respect and mutual support.
Ennek a kacsolatnak az alapja barátság, tisztelet, és kölcsönös támasz.2. We will strive at all times to be honest with each other, to clarify assumptions, and to facilitate continuous communication between our congregations.
Mindig fogunk törekedni arra, hogy legyünk becsületesek egymással, tisztázzuk a felteveséket, és hogy megkönnyítsünk egy folyamatos érintkezést a gyülekezeteink között.3. We will have respect for differences in cultural and religious customs.
Figyelembe veszünk kulturális és vallási szokásokat.4. We will share the responsibility for nurturing this relationship, with open communication and by setting goals for our partnership.
El fogjuk osztani a felelo"sséget, hogy tápláljuk ezt a kapcsolatat o"szinte érintkezéssel, és avval, hogy célokat tu"zünk ki a társasviszony számára.5. We will communicate both joys and concerns to our partners in faith and share our visions, our goals and stories of growth in our congregations.
Közölni fogjuk a vallási partnereinkkel mind az örömöket, mind az aggódalmakat, és megfogjuk osztani a látomásainkat, a céljainkat, és a történetet a fejlo"dés törtémeteit a gyülekezeteinkben.6. We will translate our words into action according to our Principles and Purposes. We will demonstrate our Unitarian faith to each other and the world.
Á t fogjuk fordítani a szavainkat tettbe, elvünk és célunk szerint. Be fogjuk mutatni az unitárius vallásunkat egymásnak és a világnak.7. We will request support as needed and give support as we are able, knowing that our connection is already a source of support.
Fogunk kérni támaszt amikor szükségünk van arra, és fogunk adni támaszt a képességünk szerint tudva, hogy a kapcsolat már forása a támasznak.
We call upon the members of our partner churches to promote this Promise of our Partnership.Most felkérjük a testvér egyházaink tagjait, hogy segítsék elo" ezt a társas igéretét.
It is my hope, as it is Tom and Mary Darner’s, that we will deepen our own relationship with our partner church, Nyaradszentlaszlo, at some point drawing up our own covenant with them.
Next Saturday we will have a party to celebrate our common values. As we gather next Saturday to share the foods of our Partner church, let us understand that we claim solidarity with them in life’s struggle as we break bread together.