Faith of Three Generations

The First Hungarian Presbyterian Church of Montréal celebrated its 90th anniversary on Sunday. We remembered those who emigrated or fled their country and were going through a hard time in their new home, and yet made worked hard to erect a church for the Hungarian protestant community. We applaud the vision and faith of the founders as they believed that after the hard times a brighter future will come when future generations will benefit greatly from this new church. Housed in the Hungarian United Church of Montréal, the organization offers Sunday school and regular services in Hungarian.

During the celebration service, reverend Attila György L talked reflected on mercy of God that shall keep his flock during hard times which is clearly evidenced by the longevity of this church. He overviewed the rocky history of Hungarians and the waves of immigrants that arrived in Canada. In his sermon, he remarked the uniqueness of the Hungarian culture and their heroic fights during their 1000 years of history protecting Europe from outside threats. He described the difficult situation of churches with immigrant congregations that presents challenges, but opportunities, also, and he cautioned against the complete assimilation.

Daughter of the founder Mihály Fehér praised the work of the forefathers and she reviewed the history of the Hungarian protestant community in Montréal with the challenges of the construction of this church. His granddaughter entertained the audience with a gorgeous song afterwards.

In his speech, his Excellency Dr. Ódor Bálint, Hungary’s ambassador to Canada emphasized the important role of the church to maintain the Hungarian identity, culture, language and religion in the diaspora. He reminded that soon we will celebrate the 60th anniversary of the 1956 Revolution when more than 10,000 Hungarians found a new home in Canada. He praised the events of Hungarian Week in Montréal, and said that Hungary’s aim is to strengthen the relationship with the diaspora. His speech was followed by the singing of the Hungarian, Szekler and Canadian anthem.

After the service, the congregation entered the church hall where a multi course lunch was served to them by the dedicated volunteers of Csillagösvény Society. During the lunch, reverend Attila György L. read out to the crowd the greetings from Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Dr. Zsolt Semjén, the latter congratulating the church on behalf of Hungary’s Prime Minister’s Office. Similar greetings arrived from many other churches from around the world, and at the end of the meeting Gyula Detre, a 100-year-old veteran member of the congregation saluted the church community.

We wish the church all the best in their future endeavours with the words of their reverend, Soli Deo Gloria.

Photos of the events are available in the Photo Galery of the Kőrösi Csoma Sándor Program
Dorka Kornélia Takácsy, KCSP program, Montreál