Dr. Udvarnoki Tells of Life Behind Iron Curtain
DR. BELA UDVARNOKI
By J. L. WALTER MOOSE
Dr. Bela Udvarnoki can speak
with authority on Church-State
relations behind the Iron Cur
tain, because he draws upon a
life time of experience. He was
born in Budapest, Hungary,
near the turn of the century
and spent most of his life in
that country engaged in reli
gious work. Thus, he acquired
first-hand knowledge of Church-
State affairs in Central Europe.
However, circumstances seem
to have decreed that Dr. Udvar
noki would spend only a part of
his life in his native land. He
was in the Unted States on
preaching tour in 1947 when the
Communists took over in Hun
gary. Friends in Budapest, fear
ing for his safety should he re
turn, advised him to remain in
America until conditions at
home changed for the better.
Conditions have not as yet be
come favorable for his return
to Hungary, but Dr. Udvarnoki
has found a new life in his
adopted country.
He has emerged as an inter
preter of Church-State affairs in
Communist-dominated lands, be
cause he understands the intri-
cater elations, the maneuverings,
and the hostilities between the
political and ecclesiastical pow
ers in that part of the world
In spi.e of restrictions on com
munication imposed by Commu
nist regimes. Dr. Udvarnoki has
managed by various means to
keep well informed about con
ditions at home, because he
knows how to fit together the
bits and pieces of information
that filter through the Iron
Curtain.
Addrasses Many Groups
In recent years. Dr. Udvar
noki has addressed many civic
and religious groups, and his
articles have appeared n such
nationally known religious
periodicals as CHRISTIANITY
TODAY. Whether speaking or
writing, he always sees today’s
facet of the Church-State con
troversy in the context of his
tory and in the light of his own
[>ersonal involvement in the
story of the Church in his native
Hungary.
At the beginning of this cen
tury, before the rise of Com
munism, the Churches of Hun
gary were sharply divided into
two groups, the Established and
the unrecognized. The Roman
Catholic, the Greek Orthodox,
the Reformed, the Lutheran
and the Unitarian Churches
alone enjoyed government sanc
tion. Their support came from
the government by means of a
tax based on membership. At
the time of birth the names of
children were added automati
cally to the rolls of the Church
of which their parents were
me'.nbers. And, according to
law, no person could change
from one Church to another un
til he was eighteen years of age.
Thus, the Established Churches
enjoyed favored positions and
they were always zealous to pro
tect these interests.
Baptists and other similar
groups made up the unrecog
nized religious bodies. These
groups could not own property
as churches, because they
were not legally recognized.
Afrer long years of struggling
for recognition. Baptist
gained legal status in 1905,
but wllhout financial support.
However, Dr. Udvarnoki re
calls that legal status did not
prevent opposition nor occa
sional persecution.
The disfavor of the Established
Churches showed itself in un
usual ways, such as the time
when a priest organized a group
of young people to stone a fun
eral procession. The law pro
vided that the nearest of kin to a
deceased person had the right
to decide who would conduct the
funeral service. Dr. Udvarnoki
remembers the occasion when
his father, who was a Baptist
minister before him, was re
quested to officiate at the last
rites for a person who was a
member of one of the Establised
Churches. Of course, the pride
of the priest involved was of
fended. Therefore, he gathered
a group of young people together
and waited for the funeral pro
cession to pass. When it came in
sight, the young people began
throwing stones at the pall
bearers, who were forced to set
the casket down in the street
and flee to safety.
Looking back upon this and
similar incidents. Dr. Udvarnoki
says that persecution actually
advanced Baptist work in Hun
gary. However, he adds, with a
chuckle, “We didn’t like it wh'.le
it was going on, but when it
was passed we realized it had
made us stronger."
Early Days Simple
In these early days the min
istry of Baptists and kindred
groups was very simple. For the
most part, services were held
in the homes of interested per
sons. A room would be pre
pared with chairs and desk for
the meeting. In the winter
months, when the farmers were
free from work in the fields,
groups would come together for
two or three days. During the
mornings and afternoons the
group would engage in Bible
study and listen to lectures, and
in the evenings there would be
evangelistic services. These peo
ple grew in depth of spirit, but
they were never allowed to for
get that their religious views
were merely tolerated.
In this climate oi faith Dr.
Udvarnoki grew to manhood. He
attended the University of Buda
pest; and. in 1924, came to the
United States to study at South
ern Baptist Seminary in Louis
ville. Kentucky. While at the
Seminary, he met and married
Miss Gladys Smith, a native of
Mississippi and, at that time,
a student in the Woman’s Mis
sionary Union Training School.
Ha was graduated in 1931 with
a Ph. D. degree and returned
immediately to Budapest t o
serve as a pastor of Baptist
churches and to teach Testa
ment and Greek in the Baptist
Seminary there, of which his
father was president.
During the years that fol
lowed, the ominous shadows of
Naiiam and Communism be
gan to darken the landscapes
of Europe. Dr. Udvarnoki
plunged himself into the work
of the Baptist churches of
his native land. He was soon
to become president of the
Hungarian Baptist Convention.
and later to be made presi
dent of the Baptist Seminary
in Budapest, succeeding his
father in this post.
And, then, war came!
Dr. Udvarnoki recalls with
thoughtful sadness the tragic
happenings of the war years.
Slowly, the cords that bound the
land at war grew tighter and
tighter, until at last Budapest
was under siege.
A long-range shell struck the
Udvarnoki home. Mrs. Udvar
noki was killed. Her body
was interred in a temporary
grave In the Seminary yard,
because the danger was too
great to risk a journey to the
permanent burying ground.
For six weeks the sige con
tinued. Dr. Udvarnoki and his
three children, two sons and
an eighteen months old daugh
ter, spent the long days and
nights in a basement. His father
died during the siege, and the
night after the father was buried
the little daughter died of mal
nutrition. Food, suitable for so
young a child, was simply not
available.
When the guns finally grew
quiet, the tanks of the victorious
armies rolled throught he rubble-
filled streets of Budapest, flat
tening the frozen dead bodies of
soldiers and horses that were
lying in the streets.
Less Than Human
Dr. Udvarnoki reflects with
wrinkled brow, that under such
circumstances men and women
become something less than hu
man. Hearts are like pieces of
wood. Sympathy dies. And all
the niceties of civilization are
forgotten. Man can subsist on
so little, Dr. Udvarnoki remem
bers. He can wear a pair of
shoes lifted from the feet of a
dead soldier in the street and
give it not a second thought.
“It takes time to become human
beings again,” Dr. Udvarnoki
adds thoughtfully.
At such times the relations
between Church and State are
of little concern, if they are
remembered at all. A new or
der was needed, and when the
war was over a new order
came. But it was different
from the old. Slowly Commun
ists infiltrated the government,
and waited for the opportunity
to take over.
In 1947 Dr. Udvarnoki came
to the United States for an ex
tended tour of preaching. The
invitation was extended by his
friend. Dr. D. Swan Haworth,
professor of psychology of re
ligion at the Louisville Baptist
Seminary, who knowing of the
long years of hardship and the
personal tragedies of the war,
wanted him to have this respite.
He brought his two sons with
him, and on July 5 of that year
was married to Miss Rudy
Daniel, a friend of many years
and a former missionary from
the Southern Baptist Convention
to Central Europe.
Little did he know when he
left for America that he would
never see his native land
again. He was in Jackson,
North Carolina, filling the
final engagement of his tour
of preaching when word came
from friends In Hungary, ad
vising him that it would not
be safe for him to return.
Long months of uncertainty
followed. “I felt like a dead
man.” Dr. Udvarnoki recalls.
The opportunity to become pas
tor of the Gatesville Baptist’
Church in Gatesville, North Car
olina, presented itself, and Dr.
Udvarnoki moved his family to
this Eastern North Carolina vil-
'age, where they would remain
for more than three years. The
good people of Gatesville opened
their hearts to the displaced
preacher from Hungary and
helped him to triumph over an
other of the great disappoint
ments of his Ufe.
In 1952 he joined the faculty
of Chowan College at Murfrees
boro, North Carolina, as head of
the Department of Social
Science. He has retired now, and
he admits that he enjoys the
quiet of his home set in a peace
ful wooded area adjacent to the
college campus. But his is not
an idle retirement. He is busy
reflecting and writing.
His first and foremost inte-
est is, as it has always been,
Christ and His Church. His
mind and heart go out to the
people back in Hungary. His
thoughts are of the Church
there— behind the Iron Cur
tain. What is happening to it?
where is it going?
Dr. Udvaroki believes that
western observers are being dis
armed by what he calls an ap
parent freedom of Christian
Churches in Communist-domina
ted lands. The Churches appear
free to the casual observer; but,
as Dr. Udvarnoki sees the situa
tion, the organizations of the
Churches themselves are under
State domination. The State has
slowly taken control of the ec
clesiastical bodies, and is not
only dictating what can be done
within the Churches but is also
deciding who shall do it.
The deep hatred of religion.
Dr. Udvarnoki declares, has
not been set aside by the Com
munists. The end goal is to des
troy the Churches from within,
but after they have been used as
a tool slowly to divert the people
from allegiance to religion.
And, yet, in the midst of all
these machinations of Church
and State, Dr. Udvarnoki sees
a ray of real hope. The Com
munists err in that they
think they can control Chrisi-
anity by manipulating the ec
clesiastical organization. Com
munists, Dr. Udvarnoki
believes, have not reckoned
as yet with the Spirit-filled
Christian. And here Christ is
triumphant over the State.
The life of this refined and
cultured Christian gentleman de
fies all that Communism stands
for, and the visitor leaves him
with the prayer that his like
shall never perish from the
earth, but rather increase until
the world is a place where men
can live free everywhere.
☆ ☆ ☆
Such are the chances that keep
the mind in action; we desire,
we persue; we obtain, we are sat
isfied; we desire something else,
and t>egin a new persuit.
WILLIAM K. SLATE, III
Former Student
To Appear in
"Who's Who"
William K. Slate, II, a 1963
graduate of Chowan College, has
been selected to appear in the
1964 volume of “Who’s Who in
American Colleges and Univer
sities.” He was among 31 stu
dents selected at Wake Forest
College for the 1964 volume.
Bill Slate was a commencement
marshal at Chowan in 1963 and
during his stay on the campus
was active in various student or
ganizations. He received the As
sociate in Arts degree in the
spring of 1963.
Bill is a native of Richmond,
Virginia, the son of Mrs. Elsie
Howard of 3018 West Marshall
Street in Richmond. He gradu
ated from Thomas Jefferson
High School in Richmond. He
was a football player and re
ceived district honors at the end
of his last season. Slate was al
so active in sports and school
government at Thomas Jeffer
son. He is currently serving in
the Student Government Asso
ciation at Wake Forest College.
'Operation Papa'
Initiated By
Sorority Men
(ACP)—Three Sigma Alpha Ep
silon men became part-time “fa
thers” recently through a pro
gram called “Operation Papa”,
says the SPECTRUM, North Da
kota State University, Fargo.
The fraternity began the pro
gram by contacting grade schools
in Fargo and getting a list of
boys from 6 to 12 who have no
fathers. Each of the SAE broth
ers was assigned to a boy and
began his fatherly duties by tak
ing his “son” to an SAE Christ
mas party. Next on the agenda
are basketball games, skating,
movies, or any other occasion
that might arise. The boys can
also come to the fraternity house
at any time and watch television,
play records and stay for supper
if their mothers agree.
CAFETERIA SPECIALS
(ACP)—A University of Minne
sota dormitory resident with a
sense of humor about dormitory
food recently returned his tray
to the clean-up area with a star
fish and note; “What the heck
is this? It’s not even cooked."
SUMMER SESSION
fit aecr«d>t*d eoil«9*
irNOTYPE — TELETYPESFTTW
OPERATION
Jur>« 7 to July 13, 19*5
$250 i«clud*« room and mtolt
at Hi« co4I«9«
Apply now to
DIroetor of Graphic Arts
CHOWAN COLLEGE
Murfrootboro, N. C.
PAGE SIXTEEN
THE CHOWANIAN