A Look at Two International Churches in Budapest

 NEWS FEATURE

 By Laura Brown

Pastor Lee

Is a new "false religion" taking place in Hungary? AfricanNews Hungary answers the question as our special contributor, Laura Brown, takes a look at two international churches in Budapest 


Religion in Hungary has had a tainted past, but with Communism out of the way, religion is most definitely not dying out. In fact, followers are growing in number and nationality. AfricanNewsHungary interviewed Pastor Lee Powell of the International Baptist Church of Budapest and Priest Denis Moss of Saint Margaret’s Anglican Church, two English-speaking churches, to ask them about their respective churches and congregations

The International Baptist Church of Budapest is an English-speaking church whose congregation is made up of 150 to 200 people originating from more than twenty different nations. The followers are primarily expatriates; families of diplomats or businessmen. The church also welcomes Hungarian families. Mr. Lee Powell, pastor of the Church since 2002, spoke of his congregation as “a taste of heaven when people from every tribe, tongue, and nation come together to seek the face of the Lord Jesus Christ and find themselves in spiritual unity with the kingdom of God”.

The very fact that the congregation is made up of so many different nations is both a blessing and a challenge for the church. Seeing as most of these people are in Budapest on posting, they do not stay for very long, the average being two to three years before they are sent to another location. This can be a blessing, for the church is constantly renewed and welcomes new followers from around the world, but also a challenge as it can be difficult to get to know one another, as well as open up to each other, knowing that it will only be for a short period of time. Indeed, the fact that most followers are far away from home and have come to a country very different from their own is a recurring problem that Pastor Lee has often had to deal with among individuals. 

Another challenge in the congregation is the frequent language barrier. The followers are from all over the world and English may not necessarily be their mother tongue. Clearly communicating God’s word is not a light task. As Pastor Lee says, “words must be carefully crafted so that others can understand rather than using many clichés, cultural references, etc.” In the case of a misunderstanding, Pastor Lee laughingly advises to “ask the person next to you to translate that!” Looking into the future, the primary aim of the church is to stay in touch with culture and to use it in the mission of finding and understanding the truth.

These challenges may be relevant to this specific church only; however, religion in Hungary has had to deal with larger-scale problems as well, as during the Communism years when religion was not supported by the government. The government at the time tried to remove all vestiges of Christianity, rejecting the supernatural by replacing it with a “false religion”, as Pastor Lee names it, that is to say, Humanism, the philosophy which places man at the centre of all things. Although he was not in Hungary at the time, the passionate pastor was convinced that Christian ideals were substituted by “greed, dishonesty, theft and a lack of love and respect towards others”. Even though the Communism era is over, Pastor Lee fears that the country is now living in another kind of “false religion”, namely consumerism - the notion that buying more things will make you happy. 

Pastor Lee recalled a very strong and unforgettable moment in 1981 when the Lord called him and told him he was to become a messenger. “The encounter was so powerful and moving that I still remember it vividly”, he explains. Two things seem to motivate Pastor Lee: the love and grace of God, called the new birth in the Bible, and the fact that knowledge of the existence of God must be shared with others.

Today, in the 21^st century, a time of non-stop rush hour and incredible advances in technology, it wouldn’t be unexpected for followers to cut down on their hours at the church, not knowing how to fit it in with the many other every-day chores of life. However, Pastor Lee believes that the 21^st century’s busy life will not have deterred the true believers, stating that “real Biblical faith is our life”, a proclamation that can be experienced by reading Scripture and by acting on its principles, which will in turn inspire, encourage and strengthen one’s faith. 

However he is not afraid of the 21^st century’s threats to church-going, because “those that have real faith do not have to find time, they make time because it is so beneficial”. Proof of this is that the church is continually growing in number. Hungary is not the only place where the numbers are growing either; the International Baptist Church of Hungary, being a multicultural church, consists of expatriates who come and go, and when they do go, they take with them their experience from the church to all parts of the globe.

In 1996, Pastor Lee read a book entitled The Wisdom Hunter in which he found a spiritual message. The story was about an American pastor who became the pastor of an International Church in Europe. In 2001, it was Pastor Lee’s turn to become the protagonist and to follow in the Wisdom Hunter’s footsteps, when he was invited to become the pastor of the International Baptist Church of Budapest. In the same way, Pastor Lee is now returning to America, this time to the Lake Arrowhead Chapel in the Atlanta, Georgia area. He is not sure who his successor would be.

Saint Margaret’s Anglican Church has an interesting past. The church became independent in 1991, belonged to the British Embassy; even organised from Vienna. Today the church’s Bishop still located in England, from where he has authority over the whole of Europe, North Africa and several countries in Asia. 

      Priest Moss

Priest Denis Moss was the priest of Saint Margaret’s Anglican Church for 19 years until only recently when he retired. He also experienced “a calling to come to Hungary”. He and his wife Maria, who has Hungarian background, lived in New Zealand and held good positions there, before being invited to become priest of Saint Margaret’s. Dennis Moss does not feel any regret in accepting the new position proposed to him, as he felt “it was meant to be”. That was April 1992. He says what motivates him as a priest is the sense of service and love. Indeed, the Anglican community is a loving one. 

The congregate at Saint Margaret’s is made up of 25-30 people and, like the Independent Baptist Church of Budapest, it is mixed; there are many diplomats and ambassadors, and there are also African families and Hungarian students. The church has a peculiarity unlike many other churches, in that it welcomes not only followers of different nationalities, but also followers of different religions. Indeed, the Anglican community worldwide is a very sociable and welcoming one, where there is no discrimination against what religion others follow. At Saint Margaret’s, some people are Baptists, others Lutherans or Roman Catholic, just to name a few.

To illustrate this, Denis Moss told African News Hungary that after mass on a Sunday, many church-goers stick around to have coffee or tea and to mingle with the other followers. There are also organized dinners, with lots of singing and music included in the activities. Saint Margaret’s really is a community, and has a life that local churches perhaps lack. 

There are at least two challenges the church faces. Like the International Baptist Church, there is a shortage of a sense of continuity or regularity among followers. Seeing as they are mostly diplomats, academics, ambassadors or on business, time is an issue for them. Many cannot attend church every Sunday, or are in Budapest for only a few months or years before they move on to their next posting. The other problem is of a financial kind, currently exacerbated by the recession. There is little external help, even though the church is part of the Church of England. Obviously, Saint Margaret’s Anglican Church is self-supported.

Priest Moss says “a congregation with an older priest usually attracts an older generation of followers”; adding that there has been a recent growth in younger followers, particularly Hungarian students with no previous Anglican background, which according to him is “very encouraging”. 

During the Communism years, there was no priest at all, only one that would occasionally come from Vienna, where the chair was at the time. The 50’s were particularly difficult for the church, as the services were irregular and only took place when permission was granted by the authorities. In the 1970’s and 1980’s it became much easier to get permission, and service became a monthly happening. During the German occupation, the British had to leave Hungary, and only women who had married Hungarian men and bore their surname could claim to be Hungarian. They stayed in the country and secretly organized service. This is how the Anglican Church survived those hard years. 

Normally most clergy retire at the age of 65, some at 70. Priest Moss, at 78, has had to retire, but not out of choice. He and his wife Maria, without whom the trip to Hungary could never have been made possible, will continue to attend Saint Margaret’s, as they have planned to stay in Hungary, which Priest Denis Moss now calls home.