Zoltán Balog, the bishop of the Dunamelléki Reformed Church District elected last November, was ordained a bishop yesterday in Nagykőrös, Pest county. Speaking to the community at the service, Zoltán Balog emphasized: the bishop does not have a church district, but the Danube Reformed Church District has a bishop. "You are not mine, but I am yours," he said.
"We may have ambitious programs, epoch-making commitments, and successful spiritual struggles, but if we let down the people struggling with their faith, the people who are suffering, the people who have lost, or those who are intoxicated by their victories, then we will be unfaithful to our mission," said Zoltán Balog.
László Kövér, the President of the Parliament, greeted the bishop on behalf of the state and talked about how Zoltán Balog started in the world of the reformed parish of a mining village in Borsod, only to rise to higher positions of responsibility. He went from the small Reformed community all the way to shaping the destiny of Hungarians as a whole, only to now return to his church again. But there was always constancy in his life's journey, throughout his mission as a pastor and minister, he proclaimed with faith and confidence that "Jesus is the way", added the speaker of the house.
In his greeting, Cardinal Péter Erdő, Archbishop of Esztergom-Budapest, warned that amid the new challenges and opportunities of today, there is an increasing need for the cohesion and unity of Christians. "If we all look primarily to Christ and move toward him, we will also get closer to each other," said the cardinal.
Károly Fekete, the bishop of the Tiszántúli Reformed Church District - quoting the Reformed theologian Sándor Csikesz - wished his fellow bishops an "exemplary living" of four concepts in the "gray weekdays": piety, honesty, humanity and the pursuit of sanctification.
Béla Kató, the bishop of the Transylvanian Reformed Church District, emphasized in his sermon that at the episcopal ordination, strength, the power of God's holy spirit is asked for the bishop entering the service. Pentecost is the celebration of the "filling" of the soul, on the first Pentecost the disciples received strength to live and courage to die. What more could we ask for here today, in the middle of a pandemic? asked Béla Kató.
At the service, the Reformed bishops of the Carpathian Basin and the deans of the Reformed Church District of Danube blessed the new bishop. Zoltán Balog was elected bishop of the Reformed Church District of Dunamellék in November 2020, but the episcopal consecration service could not be held earlier due to the coronavirus epidemic.
Among others, Tamás Sulyok, President of the Constitutional Court, Zsolt Semjén, Deputy Prime Minister, Gergely Gulyás, Minister in charge of the Prime Minister's Office, Katalin Novák, Minister without portfolio responsible for families, and Anikó Lévai, the Prime Minister's wife, took part in the ceremony.
