wfn.org | Hundreds Gather in Debrecen for 23rd WARC Assembly

[PCUSA.NEWS@pcusa.org]

8-August-1997 
97307 
 
    Hundreds Gather in Debrecen for 23rd WARC Assembly 
 
    by Jerry L. Van Marter 
    World Alliance of Reformed Churches Newsroom 
 
DEBRECEN, Hungary--By train, bus and automobile, nearly 1,000 Christians 
from the worldwide Reformed family of churches arrived in this eastern 
Hungarian city (which has just a small local airfield) for the Aug. 8 
opening of the 23rd General Council of the World Alliance of Reformed 
Churches (WARC).  The gathering continues through Aug. 20. 
 
    The General Council, which meets every five to eight years to set 
policies and programs for the Alliance, last met in 1989 in Seoul, Korea. 
The 500-some delegates to this General Council have come to Debrecen 
representing 208 WARC member churches throughout the world. 
 
    The city that greeted them is rich in Reformed history.  The Calvinist 
branch of the Reformation brought Protestantism to Debrecen in the 1500s, 
and throughout the ensuing centuries the city has been such a bastion of 
Protestantism that it is widely known as the "Hungarian Geneva" and the 
"Calvinist Rome." 
 
    The Reformed Church in Hungary, which is hosting this General Council, 
was born in 1567, when the Debrecen Synod adopted the Heidelberg Catechism 
and the Second Helvetic Confession.  Today the church numbers 3.5 million 
members in 1,200 congregations.  Members of the Reformed Church in Hungary 
constitute about 21 percent of the country's population. 
 
    This strong religious heritage is highly visible in Debrecen, from the 
towering Great Church in the heart of town to the surrounding campuses of 
the Hungarian Reformed College and Teachers Training College and the 
related secondary school.  Banners welcoming participants to the General 
Council flutter from lamp- and signposts throughout the downtown district. 
 
    The arrival of the hundreds of international visitors has added a 
distinctly cosmopolitan flair to Debrecen.  Looks of bemusement confusion 
are apparent everywhere as local merchants struggle to understand Asian, 
African and American languages many have not heard before.  Flowing robes 
and eye-popping colors add a sparkle to the normally sedate appearance of 
the ancient European city. 
 
    Participants in this General Council will address the general theme 
"Break the Chains of Injustice."  But even as theme presenter Walter 
Brueggemann of the United States mused that "everyone, seemingly, can 
assent to that," delegates will no doubt struggle to find solutions to such 
complex problems as the role of churches in countries with oppressive 
governments, the situations of minority Christian communities in some 
countries and the continuing outbreak of ethnic conflicts that affect 
churches in various regions of the world. 
 
    Delegates will also attempt to grapple with such long-standing problems 
as the role of women in church and society, ethnic conflict and 
reconciliation, HIV/AIDS, economic exploitation and environmental 
degradation, and poverty and the plight of the world's children.  Work on a 
number of these issues began early with pre-Council conferences for women 
and youth. 
 
    The General Council meeting begins Aug. 8 in the Great Church with 
worship and addresses by WARC president Jane Dempsey Douglass of the United 
States and Milan Opocensky, general secretary of the Geneva-based Alliance. 
Theme presentations and a celebration of the 120th anniversary of the 
Alliance will occupy Sunday, Aug. 10. 
 
    The Council breaks into three sections and their subsections Aug. 11-14 
to process its work.  The sections are "Reformed Faith and the Search for 
Unity," "Justice for All Creation" and "Partnership in God's Mission."  Two 
WARC committees -- a Policy Committee and a Public Issues Committee -- will 
also meet during those days to formulate recommendations to the Council. 
 
    Reports of the sections and committees will be acted upon by the full 
General Council on Aug. 15 and 18-19.  Participants will spend Aug. 16-17 
in a visitation program to other Hungarian cities and neighboring 
countries, such as Romania, Slovakia, Ukraine and Yugoslavia. 

------------
For more information contact Presbyterian News Service
  phone 502-569-5504             fax 502-569-8073  
  E-mail PCUSA.NEWS@pcusa.org   Web page: http://www.pcusa.org 
  mailed from World Faith News <wfn-news@wfn.org>  

--