HUNGARY - Hungary or Magyarország, as the Hungarians call their country is in central Europe. It is about the size of the state of Indiana, 93,023 sq. km. Its population is ten million. Before the end of the 9th century AD. the Magyars lived for a while on the great plains north of the Black Sea. Like many people in those days, the Hungarians lived by fishing, hunting and animal breeding. In 896 AD. migrating tribes of horsemen conquered the thinly populated Carpathian Basin, and under Stephen, their first king, Hungary became unified as a kingdom in 1001 AD. Hungary was invaded, destroyed several times during its 1,100 year old history, but always recovered as one of the principal powers of central Europe. 
Feszty: Conquest of the land REFORMATION - There are two important facts about Hungarian Reformation. One is the speed with which it spread and the other is the way it was carried across the country. Hungary was divided into three sections: the centre and the south part of the country was held by the Turks; the west and the north was held by the Habsburgs, and Transylvania was held by the Hungarians. Hungary by having close ties with other nations, sent hundreds of students to the west to study. There the students met the new movements of thought and philosophy. Upon returning from the land of Luther and Calvin these students led a fully Hungarian Reformation without outside help. At the beginning of the 16th century Hungary was ready for the Reformation, but then a great disaster took place. Fighting with the Turks, the Hungarians lost 20,000 people in a battle at Mohács in 1526. This great loss brought the rich and the poor together to fight the invaders, and the Reformation supplied the strength with the reinterpretation of the Gospel's Christian message. In the sections of Hungary where the Habsburgs were in power the new movements of religion were condemned. The leaders were put into prison, tortured and sold as galley slaves when they did not give up their new faith. After 300 years of oppression the situation became more tolerant in 1867 when all religions were given equal rights and people were allowed to change from one faith to another. By 1910 there were over 2.5 million Reformed people in Hungary, but the Treaty of Trianon severed almost a million people of the Reformed faith from Hungary; 75% of the land was given to the neighbours of Hungary. Romania alone incorporated over 1,000 churches of Hungarian origin. At the turn of the 20th century 1.5 million Hungarians left their homeland for the United States, and from there the first Hungarian immigrants came to Canada.
CANADA - The official beginning of Hungarian immigration to Canada, according to government records, is 1886. The first settlement is connected with the name of Paul Eszterházy. He organized Hungarians in Pennsylvania who were unaccustomed to the dirty work of factories and mines and they desired the more peaceful agricultural life. The promise of 160 acres of free land was also an enticing factor in their coming to Canada. The first group of 35 Hungarian families were taken 25 miles north of Whitewood, Saskatchewan. Remembering their homeland, they named it Kaposvár. At the turn of the Century there was a continuous debate in Hungary about the harms and benefit of emigration. Many felt that if workers depart from the country, those staying at home will have greater opportunities to find work, so the departure of people to work outside of Hungary on a short term basis was considered beneficial. But it was also realized that if the temporary emigration becomes permanent, then it becomes a national tragedy. It became a tragedy. Some of the villages in north-eastern Hungary became almost empty. It was mainly the 20-45 year old age group that left for North America. Seventy-five percent of the immigrants never returned from Canada or the USA. From October 28, 1956 to February 28, 1957 there were 178,351 Hungarians escaped into Austria after the 1956 revolution. More than half of these refugees were skilled workers, many of them between 20 and 30 years of age. Out of 7,241 students who escaped from Hungary 1,869 went to the USA and 958 to Canada. After receiving full scholarship many of them became integrated into the western culture. The refugees of 1956 were not interested in religion and churches, but interestingly enough, now their contribution has become vital to our Canadian Hungarian congregations. The first generation of immigrants to Canada lasted for decades, but began later than in America. The peak was in the late twenties and later after 1956. According to the Canadian Statistical Yearbook of 1968 in 1931 there were 40,562 Hungarians in Canada; in 1941 there were 54,598, in 1951 there were 60,460, and in 1961 there were 126,220 out of which 72,900 were born in the old country. The majority of our present membership was born in Europe. They immigrated to Canada. 
Immigrants on their way to North America 
HAMILTON - Due to the industrial nature of Hamilton many Hungarians settled in the area. In March of 1926 Rev. Ferenc Kovács was authorized by the Presbyterian Church in Canada, namely the Hamilton Presbytery, to organize a congregation for the new emigrants. Rev. Ferenc Kovács also conducted services to Hungarians at Niagara Falls, Caledonia, Brantford and Toronto.
Services were first conducted in Calvin Presbyterian Church on James Street. May 26, 1926 the Calvin Presbyterian Church was officially established with the following elected officers: Chief elder and treasurer: András Várady; vice president: István Türky; secretary: József Kemény, elders: Miklós Istvánffy, Sándor Szép and József Baranyi. (In the coming years the church's name was changed from Calvin Presbyterian Church to John Calvin Hungarian Presbyterian Church.) The congregation enjoyed the hospitality of a sister church for months, but there was a strong desire within the congregation to have its own place of worship. In the summer of 1926 the congregation decided to rent a private residence at 247 Wentworth Avenue as their place of worship. This is where the actual organization began with the newly elected Session. During the great financial difficulties the pastor was paid by the Mission Board. Even in the time of Rev. Ruzsa's ministry the Mission Board still paid a part of his stipend. Later the congregation became strong enough to pay him. During the first few years the congregation met at other churches, and due to the high unemployment problem the membership in the congregation was changing on a monthly basis. Many Hungarians just came to Hamilton and some had no income or had low paying jobs. During the depression years many left Hamilton for better opportunities elsewhere. In the spring of 1927 the congregation relocated and continued the worship services at a school at the Neighbourhood House on Beach Road. In 1928 the congregation moved to 325 James Street North. In the rented building a Református Magyar Otthon was established with a library. Soon after, in January of 1929 they were discussing the possibility of buying the Westminster Church on Barton Street. First it was rented and from September the work was continued there. There were only 80 members in the church who with their little money signed up to purchase the church with the help of the Presbyterian Church in Canada. The 1929 crash of the Stock Market and the depression that followed, made the purchase impossible. The congregation was not able to hold unto the building. Amidst the constant moving a desire developed in the members to purchase or build a place of worship. On February 28, 1932 the congregation decided to purchase a lot at 121 Birch Avenue and build a church. This was during the time of the greatest unemployment. During the building program the following were the officers: Chief elder: Kálmán Kovács; treasurers: Gábor Dojcsák and Dénes Szabó; secretary: Gyula Kozma; elders: László Majoros, Sándor Bálint, Miklós Szabó, Imre Szikszay, József Bartha, Gábor Kurpé, András Kurpé, György Béres I., György Béres 2 and the church building was dedicated on Easter Monday, April 17, 1933. The building phase had a few events that should be remembered. When the Erskine Church burned down in Dundas, the members of the church helped to demolish it. The Cooper Construction Company donated money and material from the salvage. Steel beams, the furnace and even the bricks were built into our present structure. People of different denominations volunteered to help with the building program. Some came for days, but many helped for weeks without any compensation. Those who were unemployed were given a dollar a day, so they could buy food. The work began during the summer of 1932 and by November 3rd the roof was completed. The Christmas service was held in the new church. Rev. Kovács designed the building upon the style of the Hungarian Reformed Churches of Transylvania, where he was born and raised. If a contractor would have built the church, the estimated cost would have been 80,000 dollars, but because of the volunteers the church was built for 8,000 dollars. During the building phase Mr. Cooper guaranteed that our bills would be paid, and during this time our members and friends gave us $2,000 in donations. Dr. Grant, president of the Mission Board upon seeing our church and learning about our financial difficulties, donated another $2,000 from his own pocket. The rest of the $4,000 was loaned at a very low interest rate by Mrs. Mowbray, a widow. In 1947 the original church mortgage was paid off and in 1955 the mortgage of the manse was also paid. On occasions the church faced difficult times, during which friends from the Home Mission Board came to the assistance of the congregation and a businessman, Mr. J. W. Hamilton, who generously helped financially, so that the congregation would be able to pay the stipend of their minister. The following pastors served at the John Calvin Hungarian Presbyterian Church of Hamilton:
It was during the short tenure of Rev. Árvay that the first manse on Fullerton Avenue was purchased. This was followed by the second parsonage on the corner of Birch Avenue & Wilson St. Our present manse at 15 Southill Drive was bought before Rev. Ruzsa retired. During the time of Rev. Ruzsa the congregation became self-supporting. During his tenure the lot next to the church was purchased and funds were raised for a $ 50,000 addition to the church building. New pews were bought also from the Hagersville Army Chapel. One of Rev. Ruzsa's great contributions to our heritage was his written work about the Hungarian settlements in Canada. It is a history book based on years of research and travel. The Ruzsa family, which participated in our 75th anniversary celebration, made these books available for our people free of charge for decades. In 1971 under Rev. Csaba Baksa's pastorate Hungarian School and Hungarian Scouting was reorganized. At that time about 75 children were enrolled in the Sunday School and "Cserkészet." Rev. Baksa retired in February of 2000. At our 75th anniversary he was our guest speaker. We thanked him for three decades of service. The first organ in the sanctuary was donated by John Bikó. In 1947 a new electronic organ was purchased. But for more than half of the church's life of 75 years John Tóth was organist for 38 years from 1962 to the end of 1999. We wish to express our thanks to him for 38 years of service. Our present organist is Eszter K. Kun. We thank Eszter for providing us with music. The following served as chief elders from the time the church was organized:
We do not have a chief elder now but since in the Presbyterian system the Clerk of the Session has similar responsibilities to that of the chief elder's, it is Mrs. Herczegh, clerk since 1980, who fulfills that role. During the 39 years of service of István Gérus as chief elder, the congregation was strengthened. It was a blessing to have his continuous dedication and strong leadership. Here it should be noted that the total time of service for the last two pastors is 57 years: Rev. Jenő Ruzsa 27 years and Rev. Csaba Baksa 30 years. During their tenure of almost six decades they left lasting influence upon the life of the congregation. Our elders are: Barry Bodo, Leslie Bodo, Brownie Bodo, Charles Bodo, Eric Deys, Ferenc Gál, Emmy Herczegh, Károly Herczegh, Elemér Holocher, János Jacina, Lajos Kádár, Lajos Kalmár, Zoltán Kiss, László Koroknay, Alex Kovács, Marianna Kovács, Sándor Kun, George McCarter, Bernadette McCarter, Alex Nagy, Tibor Oláh, Gábor Papp, Zsigmond Tibay, Nick Toldi, Béla Újj, Mary Újj, Ferenc Vajda, László Vernársky. At the time of our anniversary our oldest church member is Mrs. Rose Jacina, over 105. She was born April 7, 1896. However Mrs. Margaret Majoros has been a member of our church the longest. The first president of the Women's Guild was Mrs. János Berecz, nee Erzsébet Móré. The following ladies served as presidents (in Hungarian): Balogh Barbara, Berecz Jánosné, Bodo Károlyné, Bodó Lászlóné, Butka Júlia, Gál Anna, Gérus Istvánné, Gyenge Annus, Jakab Magda (Chanády), Kovács Erzsébet, Oláh Klára, Takács Erzsébet, Toldi Etelka. The present officers are: president - Klára Oláh, vice-president - Irene Toldi, treasurer - Ilonka Tóth, recording secretary - Mary Scandlan. Hungarian churches in Canada and the USA have many social functions. Some are being held to keep the cultural heritage, but many also serve as fund raising events. The work at these events, such as dinners, dinner-dances, picnics, requires physical labour, and often the very same few people have been offering their help year after year. They deserve our special thanks. Noodle making has been made at our church since the '50s. Each week about 20-30 people, men and women, gather regularly to make "csiga" noodles for sale. There is fellowship in this work, plus it is a fund raising activity for special causes. We thank all the workers who have been coming for decades to help. We also express our thanks to the Anniversary Committee: Leslie Bodó, Tilda Bodó, Júlia Butka, Emmy Herczegh, Károly Herczegh, John Jacina, Charlotte Kántor, Paul Kántor, Sándor Kun, Klára Oláh, Tibor Oláh, Irene, Toldi and Nick Toldi. It was the decision of the Anniversary Committee to have our celebration and dinner being held within the facilities of the church. The dinner tickets were sold by the end of August since we had only 218 seats, but those church members who wanted to attend the anniversary were given ample time to make reservations. Before the anniversary the roof over the side building needed repairs. The caretaker's apartment had water problems. A new roof was placed over the apartment a few days before the anniversary celebrations that added a different view to our church building. Alex Kun, president of the Board of Managers, was instrumental in securing the reasonable estimate and supervised the work for which we thank him. The manse and the house on the right side of the church are rented. Both buildings are fully paid. We express our thanks to all the people who have helped to have Hungarian worhip services in Hamilton for 75 years. And we ask God to bless the memory of those who gave a part of their lives to serve our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Paul Kántor |
