Journal index

The current article is the second part of a wider project, which aims to offer a systematic overview of the finance and accounting regulations in Romania pertinent to the churches, as well as of the church’s internal regulations regarding financial and accounting obligations and customs, and some accounting principles. In this part we focus on cash management, banking and budget. This paper is written primarily for Reformed ministers, students preparing for ministry, as well as church auditors working in church bookkeeping, accounting and finances.

According to Josephus Flavius, the first Roman procurator of Judea, Coponius (AD. 6-9) was sent by Augustus with power, including a “power to perform executions”. This power has been questioned regarding his successors. Some of the prefects in Judea seem to have lacked full authority in this respect. Historical sources seem to suggest that Judea was a subdivision of the larger province of Syria. The current study addresses the question of relationship between the legate of Syria and the governor of Judea, as well as the limits of the authority of the governor of Judea. Besides, we offer a presentation of the provincial governance in the Roman Empire, and a short introduction into the development of several institutions and judiciary matters. This article aims to contribute to a better understanding of the provincial governance and justice in Judea in which Jesus was condemned to death.

In the article below, I offer a systematic overview of the financial and accounting regulations in Romania, of the church’s internal regulations regarding financial and accounting obligations and customs, as well as some of the accounting principles. This article addresses primarily reformed pastors, church auditors and office managers who work with church bookkeeping, accounting and finances, but it can also be used by students, who inevitably need to become familiar with the rules of bookkeeping and financial management.

This article discusses aspects related to the Jewish self-governance in the 1st century A.D. We attempt to inquire into the following questions: What powers did the Sanhedrin who condemned Jesus have during the Roman rule? Did it have any authority to inflict death penalty? What were the rules of procedure in case of the Sanhedrin?

Many archaeologists are involved in excavations in the lands of the Bible, and each year an increasing number collection of artefacts are unearthed that offer us a glimpse on the background of the biblical history and texts. This article presents the top archaeological findings connected to the Bible, reported in 2018. The incredible treasures from the tomb of prophet Jonah came to light thanks to tunnels dug by ISIS. The “Yerushalayim” inscription on an ancient column dated to 100 B.C. is the first known appearance of the name of Jerusalem in Hebrew or Aramaic written in stone. The clay pomegranate found at Tel Shiloh is dating back to the First Iron Age, to the times of the Tabernacle of ancient Shiloh. An extremely rare seal impression discovered at Jerusalem’s Western Wall plaza and bearing the inscription “Belonging to the governor of the city” confirms specific biblical information. A tiny stone weight engraved with ancient Hebrew letters spelling the word Beka, dating to the First Temple period, was discovered in situ on the north of the early City of David. During the renewed excavations at the foot of the Southern Wall of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem, a minuscule bulla or seal impression was discovered, with the text probably reading “Isaiah the prophet”. It was discovered in the same layer where some years ago a similar seal impression was found with the inscription: “Belonging to King Hezekiah of Judah.”

This article remembers Rev. Antal Mihály Nagy and presents his work as a theologian. For some generations to come he will surely be remembered as the „Israel-theologian” of the Hungarian Reformed Church. As a former student of his, I remember his conviction that Israel and the Church, sharing the same covenant, are inseparable. Secondly, I remember his strong belief that a history of Israel cannot be written apart from the credo of Israel. Finally, I remember his open attitude towards his students, his clear preaching and his humble way in presenting his life-long experiences and theological explanations. The article acknowledges his deep interest in theological education and spiritual formation of his students at the Reformed Theological Academy of Sárospatak.

Living in an era where major corporations are being found guilty of illegal accounting practices, churches have to pay more attention to tax-related issues. Paying taxes is not an option but a responsibility. Nonetheless due to the many interpretations of the Tax Code, there are cases when officials intentionally or unintentionally abuse it. The constructive role of the churches in Romanian society is recognised by the lawgiver by offering tax relief or recognising tax-free activities. In this article we aim to clarify tax regulations for the churches and to present possible cases for tax relief and tax-free activities in the Romanian context, discussing all tax types relevant for the church, like Real Estate Taxes, Value Added Taxes, sponsoring-related profit tax deductions, etc.

In 1956 Bishop László Ravasz expressed his views on church policy and the general situation of religious communities in Eastern Europe before the meeting of the Central Committee of the World Council of Churches in Galyatető, Hungary. His text was conceived as “advice” addressed to the members of the Bethany Movement. My paper’s main target is to contextualise and publish this interpretation regarding the relationship between Christian Churches and the communist state.
In 1958 a major turning point appeared in the church-state relation on both sides of the “Iron Curtain”. After the Lambeth and Nyborg Conferences, Western openness and diplomatic efforts led to the enlargement of the World Council of Churches (New Delhi 1961), gathering Protestant and Orthodox Churches in the communion of prayer and work. At the same time, Nikita Khrushchev’s totalitarian attempt to annihilate religious structures in the Soviet Union was concealed behind his apparent “disposability for dialogue”. By organising the „Christian” Peace Conference (Prague 1958), the Kremlin continued “destalinisation”, promoting, in fact, Stalin’s policy of apparent peace in the East-West relations, while the political police went on destroying the Church and the aim it was created for. The new abuses were justified by the slogan of “Leninist legality”. Trying to find the Romanian way to build communism, Gheorghe Gheorghiu Dej, the old-new party leader and his subdued judicial system brought religious faith in the prisoner’s box. Persecution focused especially on religious minority groups, such as Catholics, Reformed, Unitarians, Lutheran Evangelicals, Pentecostals, Baptist, and others, but, also, attacked the majority Orthodox monastic life. During the show-trials, the fictive scene became a sacrificial place, where those who were searching for the truth of God fell prey to the injustice of the immolators who imposed by force their atheistic “truth”.
The National Council for the Study of the Securitate Archives (CNSAS) has been preserving detailed data, descriptions of the facts and nuances concerning thousands of aggressors and victims of (post-) Stalinism. Emblematic was the case of Richard Wurmbrand, who first suffered imprisonment (after a sentence pronounced in a Kangaroo Court), being released afterwards by the authorities in 1964, for an amount of 10 000 USD.

For many people the church is a place of refuge and solace, a place where they may feel comfortable and closer to God. But for some the church represents a mirror of their personal failures, and a reminder of the fact that they are „not good enaught.” While for many, belief in God is a way of overcoming anxiety and turning to God is a valuable tool for gaining strength against anxiety disorders, for some people church could be a place that creates fear or gives way to thoughts that end up in anxiety or panic attack. While panic attacks may occur during church service or other church activities, this article offers a presentation of crisis intervention with a special focus to panic attacks. After that we continue with discussions on the issue of panic at pastoral visitations.

There are several types of anxiety disorders including generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, social anxiety disorder, and specific phobias. While each anxiety disorder has a different set of symptoms describing the disorder, each one involves a certain level of recurring, irrational and excessive fear. Anxiety disorders may cause distress that interferes with a person’s ability to lead a normal life. In this article we will focus on panic disorder and the possibilities of pastoral care. First we will look at panic disorder and some related phobias, such as generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, and agoraphobia. We continue with the therapeutic ways of psychiatry and psychotherapy, and will end up, with the special aspects of pastoral care.

After World War II many questions were raised by the „generation of sons” to their fathers regarding the war. There was an urgent need to cope with the past somehow. In this past elaboration the voice of the victims was worth to listen to and forgiveness of the aggressors became a major question of the society. This article was born from a study of western forgiveness-discussions and presents the Hungarian forgiveness-ethos after the end of the Great War and the big changes of 1989. More precisely it presents some of the reasons why the subject of forgiveness was lacking in Hungarian reformed theology. Shortly after the trauma of the Great War pax sovietica arrived. There was no time to distance oneself enough from the harms of the previous period and to raise and develop a public discussion on subjects like forgiveness and reconciliation because new traumas had to be faced.There was no time to cope with the past of the war, and there was no possibility (because it was not allowed) to speak out those harms until the end of the communist regime.Due to the special geopolitical situation of Eastern Europe, the isolation from western theology and with country-borders divided, Hungarian reformed theology has developed into two different directions. In Hungary the “theology of the serving church” became the unison voice of the church, while in Transylvania, building on the foundation of “new reformation theology”, a special Word-theology was born and developed into a pan-homiletic direction. Homiletics became the crown of theological studies, and every study of theology (historical, biblical, systematic and practical) had to offer some results for preaching.