One of the CÖF-CÖKA's 2020 Spiritual Defender of the World awards was received by Zoltán Balog, bishop of the synod president of the Reformed Church of Hungary and former minister. The awardee's career and activities jr. Zoltán Lomnici's laudatory speech can be read below.
The quoted spirituality of the father of the Protestant Reformation may also make us think that formulating ourselves and our identity, that is, our relationship to God and the world, is always a timely task. The Reformed identity can be of hundreds, thousands, i.e. many kinds, and this is also true of the Hungarian Reformed destiny. However, if we look back at the history of the Reformation, we can also see that the reforming movements of the 16th century aimed at reforming the Catholic Church often took on a national character; this was also true of Calvinists, Lutherans, and other movements.
As a resident of Petszentlőric-Pestszentim, I remember Mr. Kálmán Orbán, who completed his earthly pilgrimage last year, and according to his creed, "Our conviction and experience is that man becomes a happy man in the love of God. Therefore, we want to bear witness to everyone about God's love and salvation revealed in Jesus. We believe and profess that the Hungarian people do not primarily need economic recovery, but the living Jesus Christ. He sets us free. Jesus makes us into people who can serve, who do not primarily live for themselves but appreciate and respect the other person, who live with high standards and love their country." My paternal grandmother, born Zsófia Puskás, as a diligent member of Pastor Orbán's church, regularly summarized all of this in my direction: Zoltik, why are you bad when you could be good?
The awardee's personal start and life path also exemplify this for us, and reveal this defining characteristic to us, including our common Europeanness and the Hungarian Reformed destiny. The Reverend Bishop Zoltán Balog, who comes from a reformed minister's family in Borsod, and for a time as an apprentice turner, he was able to experience the hard but noble life of manual workers, later studied theology here, and then fate sent him to Tübingen towards the end of the 1980s, where, in addition to continuing he was able to improve his theological knowledge, he also served among GDR refugees as a camp chaplain to restore faith and hope for a better world to those who came from the anxiously oppressive socialism and the Honecker world, which oppressed the freedom of civil existence. But deep down in his soul, drawing on this experience himself, the young pastor and theologian was able to take home from here, from the spiritually fresh air region of the Neckar Valley, the principle and courageous faith during the regime change, with which he himself later actively contributed to bourgeois Hungary for its construction.
The life of the Most Reverend Bishop so far carries the message that it is indeed possible to be Christian and enlightened at the same time, as well as Hungarian and tradition-loving patriots, that by embracing our national characteristics and protecting the interests of the homeland, we can proudly find ourselves and take our place among strong nations. in Europe. But Mr. Bishop's accomplished professional career also suggests to us that it is possible to serve the individual and the larger community at the same time; because yes, this is a noble path that has always helped the narrower and wider community, i.e. our belonging together, and continues to help, a service full of duty and humility. And in this service, those who need it can hope for help and support, and the community can also be strengthened anew, so above all the Hungarians of our nation, the Carpathian Basin and the wider world, whose members share their destiny, their work, their ideas, their goals and their aspirations. . He found himself and his identity in this public life - he conceptualized his relationship with God and the world in this striving, courageous intention.
And even then, this spirit could guide him, no matter what task he undertook for the public; as a pastor, as a member of parliament, and for many years as a member of the Hungarian Government, or as the respected spiritual leader of the Foundation for Civil Hungary, working energetically in both favorable and unfavorable public conditions.
His persistent work and role, his life journey so far, have been recognized and supported by their votes from his co-religionists and pastors from the Danube, but the Bishop, who was elected last November, will also be supported in his service by the proud and valuable community of believers belonging to the Reformed Church District of Dunamellek. after that, it may seem almost natural that His Excellency Bishop Zoltán Balog was elected as pastor president by the Synod of the Hungarian Reformed Church in February this year.
The recipient of the Spiritual Defense Award is Reformed bishop Zoltán Balog, who was awarded the award in 2020 as the former chairman of the board of trustees of the Civil Hungary Foundation, former chairman of the Hungarian Civil Cooperation Association and former minister of human resources.
Please allow me to congratulate Mr. Bishop from the bottom of my heart, and wish him much more strength, wisdom and good health for his service!
Sola Scriptura, sola fide, sola gratia, solus Christus – soli Deo gloria!”
Photo: MTI/Zoltán Máthé
