During the weekend, Lénárd Hánykovics, missionary pastor from Transcarpathia, served in the Reformed church in Ipolyság. In addition to the services, he reported on the current war situation in Ukraine. Over the past month and a half, the pastor has been involved in the coordination of numerous aid deliveries and fundraisers. In many cases, he supported the noble deeds of the brothers from the Highlands and arranged for their donations to reach their destination.
On these occasions, monetary and material donations were collected in the Reformed church in Ipolyság. After the Sunday service, Lénárd Hánykovics told Felvidék.ma:
"The war in Ukraine essentially started eight years ago. Transcarpathian Hungarians, Ukrainians and Ruthenians all experienced the tragedy of this."
He added: a lot has changed since the Great War that broke out on February 24, young people from Transcarpathia are leaving their homes in droves. The families mainly fled to Western Europe, the old people stayed in the villages.
As he pointed out: until the evening of May 3, Transcarpathia was an island of peace in the country. That's when the pre-Russian missile hit of the town of Volóc .
The war, which lasted nearly eighty days, caused a lot of damage. But help was not forthcoming either. As the mission pastor explained: the organizations in the mother country and in the highlands reacted very quickly to the war situation. A lot of aid came to the Transcarpathian settlements regardless of the nationality of the people living there, he emphasized.
"The aid organizations supported the Hungarians, the Roma, the Ukrainians, the Ruthenians, because there are no nationalities in the war, only people living in hunger and misery," he noted.
The Slovak Reformed Christian Church helps the Transcarpathian compatriots, the refugees in Ukraine, in many ways. The Reformed Diocese of Barsi, and within it the Reformed Parish of Zzelíz, started organizing fundraising in the first days of the war. As a result, targeted assistance has already been achieved with several donations. In addition to the Revész Revész priest couple from Zzelíz and the volunteers from the Highlands, Lénárd Hánykovics also took an active part in coordinating all of this.
In one month, about seven tons of durable food, cleaning products and basic cosmetic products were collected. The Transcarpathian missionary pastor transported them to the Ukrainian border in his minibus.
In the beginning, there was a great need for mattresses and other sleeping places. As the pastor said: the Transcarpathian pastors opened their churches to the refugees. Many of them are not religious or do not practice their faith. However, the present situation strengthened their faith.
They felt that it was good to be here, they also became new members of the church, the pastor emphasized. "We believe that God is very protective of us and that peace will remain in Transcarpathia, although the danger around us is great," he said.
Source. Velvidek.ma
Author: Péter Pásztor
Image: Ipolysági Reformed Church Parish
